Penguins Reveal Loss of Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic To Start the Season

After wrestling the Pittsburgh Penguins' starting goaltender gig away from Tristan Jarry near the end of last season, Alex Nedeljkovic has suffered a setback in nabbing the No. 1 job again going into this season. He exited the Penguins exhibition game Monday night with a lower-body injury, and now has been pronounced "week to week."

The Penguins just announced Alex Nedeljkovic is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Also, Blake Lizotte has a concussion.
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) October 2, 2024

Nedeljkovic put a choke-hold on the Penguins' crease on March 3rd and never really let up through to the end of the season, as Jarry barely saw the net much from there on out. Nedeljkovic, 28, finished the campaign with an 18-7-7 mark and a .902 save percentage.

As a UFA, he was signed by GM Kyle Dubas to a two-year extension this past summer at a $2.5 million cap hit.

While it's a tough break for Nedeljkovic, his injury opens up a window of opportunity for the Pens' top goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist, the 22-year-old who had a tremendous year in the AHL last season, going 25-12-6 with a .921 Sv% and a 2.16 goals against average.