The Penguins goaltending future has potential

The Penguins goaltending future has potential

It would be remiss to say that the Penguins brass are happy with right, especially those in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the baby Pens. The reason for this is the potential future picture that the Penguins face with regards to their goaltending and what their prospects are potentially going to develop to be. Most of this gives the Penguins a good mark as they've all been drafted (Which is discussed in more depth in a recent article) apart from Eric Hartzell and if they all pan then they can trade some for help up front.

Starting with the Penguins and their goaltending woes are well known in the play-offs through Marc-Andre Fleury's performances in recent years but this year he has had his best year to date and is looking in top form, just outside the Vezina top two in Pekka Rinne and Carey Price. If Fleury can continue his performances into the play-offs then the Penguins will be sitting pretty but the biggest problem for the Penguins in previous has been a lack of an adequate back-up. 

Since drafting Fleury the Penguins have probably had a couple of goaltenders who you could say did a good job of taking off pressure from Fleury and helped share the workplaces. I'd say you could include Tomas Vokoun (12-13), Ty Conklin (07-08) & Brent Johnson (10-11). Before the  Penguins played the Flyers in the play-offs in that series a few years ago this wasn't too much of a problem as Fleury normally played most of the games in the play-offs and was fine without needing help but since the Flyers series it has been imperative that the Penguins have a sturdy back-up just in case he isn't up to scratch again.

Ty Conklin in resplendent Penguins gear

This season Greiss has performed a bit below what was expected this season after his acquisition in the off-season in the free agency period on a 1 year $1million contract. He currently has a 2.76 GAA and a .908SV% through 15 games and whilst the numbers aren't that great If I was to be worried I'd be more worried about the GAA number but that is still more of a team effort. The save percentage is a better indicator a good goalie and he has an okay one there which puts him 36th in the league with goaltenders that have played 15 or more games. Of course, I'm not saying that I'd select a goaltender based on just the SV%. The GAA does still involve a goaltender as it indicates, well, how many goalies he lets in. It is just that it can be seen to be more a team stat than it is an individual goalie stat.

As mentioned above in the opening paragraph the Penguins have a number of prospects in their pipeline and one of those, Matt Murray, has been making some news this weekend in the American Hockey League (AHL). Although he did eventually let a goal in at 18:49 in the 3rd period he was able to set a new AHL consecutive shut-out record at 304 minutes and 11 seconds after todays 4-1 win against the Springfield Falcons. This record is impressive in itself but what makes it even more incredible is that Matt Murray is a 20-year old rookie, this stat is something you'd expect more from an experienced player, not to detract from Murray. If Murray continues his performances then with a potential vacant back-up spot on the Penguins next season I would tempted to look at the possibility of him being the back-up. However, having another AHL season may be more beneficial with a 1 year stop gap signed. 

Matt Murray playing against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Moving on from Matt Murray there is another Penguins player getting ice in the minor professional leagues in Eric Hartzell. Hartzell was signed after leaving Quinnipac as a free agent and hasn't lived up to his ability this season dropping down to the Wheeling Nailers as a result, although having three goaltenders on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton  Penguins because of the emergence of Murray is also no doubt a contributing factor. He's now nearing 26 years old so now is make or break time I feel for Hartzell. His Penguins contract is up at the end of this season and I think it would make more sense for him to sign a contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Penguins to free up a contract spot on the Penguins and then if he performs exceptionally well he can be re-signed.

The third goalie is Tristan Jarry who is playing in the Western Hockey League, part of the well loved and treasured Canadian Hockey League. This is Jarry's fourth and last season in the WHL and after this he will move on to the AHL. His stats this season compared to last have dropped slightly but the Edmonton Oil Kings lost some key players in the off-season due to them being too old to return the most notable of them relating to Jarry being Griffin Reinhart. However, Jarry's career WHL stats are still impressive with a 2.33 GAA and a .914SV%. The problem now is where he goes next season.

I see the most likely course of action being Greiss signed for another year with Murray getting the starting job in Wilkes-Barre with Jarry as back-up alongside a veteran goaltender as well. I see Hartzell starting in Wheeling and with good performances being called up. If Murray can put in another good year next season as a start then he should be ready to move up to the NHL with a few back-up stints. Also, eagle eyed people may have mentioned I've not mention Sean Maguire, another goaltender prospect. He was red shirted by Boston University because of injury, hopefully he can rebound and join the bright future of goaltending for the Penguins. I'd also be interested to see what the Wilkes-Barre Scranton/Penguins can bring to the main team in terms of goaltender coaching as they're looking likely to win the Harry "Hap" Holmes trophy for the third time in the last four years. In all, the future looks bright.