The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced they have traded Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a Third round pick in 2028. This came out of left field but it was to no surprise, that one goaltender if not both would be getting moved as the Penguins are clearly ready to go full on young.
Ned finished the 2024-2025 season with a record of;14-15-5 and had a save percentage of .894 along with a 3.12 GAA, which was a full 360 from the season he had prior with the Penguins, when he almost single handedly got the Penguins back to the playoffs with a 18-7-7 run and a .902 save percentage and a 2.97 GAA.
The Penguins have acquired a 2028 third-round draft pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 1, 2025
Pittsburgh now has 28 draft picks over the next three NHL drafts, including 16 picks in the first three rounds.
Details: https://t.co/p2z2f1s5ft pic.twitter.com/SK4QqhwrMk
What does this mean for the Penguins Goaltending situation?
It's very simple. It's Joel Blomqvist time in the burgh as this move signals his full time establishment roster spot with the NHL roster. There is also flying rumours of Tristan Jarry's name being thrown around on the trade market as multiple teams like the Oilers, Ducks and Blackhawks are looking to acquire goaltenders to bolster their goalie cores for the future of their organizations, Penguins fans can agree a Jarry trade would be more than welcomed as he been a key reason the team has missed the playoffs the past three season.
The Penguins also hope to see a push from Sergei Murashov in development camp and training camp as he continues to impress scouts, fans and the team as he has only begun his journey in professional hockey and his path to the NHL.
Despite the third round pick not being until 2028, it will be very useful towards the end of the rebuild as Pittsburgh will either be using the pick or spending it as draft capital to snag a key piece for this team. Dubas has always been sneaking at acquiring good players for very little and that third round pick could be of use in the future for the Penguins who will either be competing or just coming out of the rebuild and into the contention picture.
Could we see a possible Blomqvist and Murashov tandem heading into the season? Time will tell as the looming question on if the Penguins can move Tristan Jarry. This move of trading Ned signals that it is possible to move goalies in this era of the NHL with the cap rising season by season .