Although the Penguins were recently noted as a potential suitor for Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (citing multiple sources from within the organization) that it’s extremely unlikely that Pittsburgh opts to trade for help between the pipes.
Starter Matt Murray has struggled considerably this season and is out for the longer term with a lower-body injury. As a result, they’re running with Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, a pair of players with some upside but not a lot of NHL experience. Accordingly, they could certainly use some veteran help for the time being.
However, Pittsburgh’s salary cap situation is working against them. They’re already into LTIR with defenseman Justin Schultz but since he’ll be back before the end of the season, using that space to bring in a goaltender is risky since they’d have to get back into cap compliance before Schultz could be activated. Basically, they have enough room to acquire someone making close to the league minimum.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, there aren’t any capable proven netminders available at that price tag. If they were to seriously take a run at someone like Howard or a more expensive veteran, they’d have to send out a higher-priced veteran player as part of the return and potentially need the other team to retain salary. That’s a tough sell this early in the season but could be more palatable closer to the trade deadline.
The Penguins currently sit in sixth in the Metropolitan Division and are going to need much better goaltending to get back into a playoff position. However, there isn’t likely to be help from outside the organization on the horizon so it will be up to DeSmith and Jarry to step up in Murray’s absence.
Given the cap situation, it would be silly to trade for a goalie. DeSmith has 2.41 GAA and .924 save % so far this season. He isn’t the problem.
It’s time for GMJR to pull the trigger on a major trade or two. The offense & defense both need help.