Penguins Top Goaltending Prospect Sent Back To ECHL, Signals Need For Goaltending Shakeup

While the NHL season is on pause because of the 4 Nations Face-off, the AHL and ECHL seasons roll on.

And there was some movement between the two down on the Pittsburgh Penguins farm on Thursday.

Top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov – who went 6-0 with a whopping .934 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate – was reassigned to Pittsburgh’s ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers.

In a corresponding move, defenseman Isaac Belliveau – a fifth-round pick by the Penguins in 2021 – was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

When looking at the sheer numbers, this is a tough break for Murashov, whose numbers at both levels this season have been outstanding. Named an ECHL All-Star this season, the 20-year-old Russian goaltender is 15-3-1 with a .919 save percentage at the ECHL level this season – and that is his lowest save percentage in any league and level of professional hockey since 2020-21, when he had a .909 save percentage as a 16-year-old in the MHL, Russia’s junior league.

What this likely means is that goaltender Filip Larsson – who is also enjoying a great AHL season and has been on injured reserve for more than a month – is ready to be activated from IR.

The Penguins also recently flipped goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist, as they wanted to give Blomqvist some AHL games while the NHL is on hiatus for 4 Nations. The NHL club recalled Jarry – who was waived by the Penguins on Jan. 15 after going 8-8-4 with an .886 save percentage on the season – as a paper move in order to send Blomqvist back for the break.

Regardless, burying Murashov in the ECHL – when he is clearly well above that level of competition – probably isn’t what the Penguins want to be doing as an organization. The issue is that they have two NHL-level goaltenders in Alex Nedeljkovic and Jarry, who are blocking Larsson, Murashov, and Blomqvist from being fixtures at the level they’re supposed to be at.

Therefore, it would probably serve Penguins GM Kyle Dubas and the organization best to make a decision on one of their veteran NHL goaltenders sooner rather than later. Neither are going to be part of the Penguins’ future – which is now the focus – and both guys at the AHL level – Blomqvist and Larsson – have earned NHL looks.

And – at the end of the day – stunting the development of a premier goaltending prospect like Murashov is not in the Penguins’ best interest, and that’s exactly what they’re doing by being forced to send him back to the ECHL after a stellar run in the higher-level AHL.

It remains to be seen what the Penguins decide to do once the NHL season resumes. For now, this is a gut punch for, arguably, the Penguins best goaltending prospect.

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