Alex Nedeljkovic Looking to Re-Establish His Game in Pittsburgh, “and Prove that I Can Play at This Level”

After Alex Nedeljkovic had a terrific first year in the NHL with Carolina during the 2020-21 campaign, being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, the last two seasons have been bumpy for the goaltender.

But Mike Sullivan put it, sometimes a change of scenery makes all the difference in the world. “It gives certain players opportunities to kind of hit the reset button and just try to establish their game again, and we're going to do our best to help Ned do that,” the Penguins Head Coach said.

“I think Ned's a guy that brings real good energy to the rink every day. He's shown an ability to have success in this league, and we think he's very capable. So, I think he's going to be a great fit for us. We're excited about the possibility of having him on our roster."

Depth at the goaltending position is a big priority for Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas, who had expressed interest in signing Nedeljkovic during free agency. There was a lot that appealed to the Ohio native about Pittsburgh, which is approximately two hours from where his family lives – particularly the chance to play with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

“When you get that chance, it’s kind of tough to pass up in any role,” Nedeljkovic, 27, said. “So, that was obviously a big factor in it, and just trying to get my feet back underneath me, get some confidence again, and prove that I can play at this level.”

After getting drafted by Carolina in the second round in 2014, Nedeljkovic first burst onto the scene after four seasons spent developing mostly in the minors with the Hurricanes organization, winning the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the American Hockey League’s outstanding goaltender in 2018-19.

His breakout rookie season for the books two seasons later included being named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team while posting a 15-5-3 record with a 1.90 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage, and three shutouts. Nedeljkovic feels a lot of that came from the Hurricanes, who have made the playoffs each of the last five years, simply being a great team with a great coach.

“Roddy (Rod Brind’Amour) does a great job of playing a system that is beneficial for goalies, and they just compete, you know?” Nedeljkovic said. “I was feeling good about myself, too. I was in a good spot mentally. I felt like I could just go out there and play.”

But when Nedeljkovic and the Hurricanes couldn’t come to terms on a deal in the summer of 2021, he got traded to Detroit. The Red Wings have been in rebuilding mode, which can be a particularly difficult situation for goalies. During his first season there, he went 20-24-9 in 59 appearances as Detroit finished with the second-worst goals-against average in the league. He split the second between the Red Wings and their AHL affiliate.

While it was disappointing that his time in Detroit didn’t turn out the way Nedeljkovic had hoped, he worked hard this summer to reset and refocus, with Alex and his wife Emma welcoming their first child, son Greyson.

“I feel good on the ice, and I'm in a good place mentally, good place at home, which always helps, right?” Nedeljkovic said. “We got the little boy now, and you know what, it puts things into perspective. It's been great. I feel really good about this season.”

He’s looking forward to potentially partnering up with Tristan Jarry, with the two having played against each other in the AHL after turning professional around the same time, and now finding themselves in the same NHL locker room. 

“He’s shown that he's been an All-Star and he can play that high level, so it's going to be good,” Nedeljkovic said. “I think we'll both push each other, and I think we're going to do a good job of giving the guys in front of us a chance to win every night.”

Jarry agreed, saying, “he’s awesome. He’s a great person and I think we’re really going to complement each other well. I think having two people that play similar really helps, and I think it also helps when you have a goalie coach like Andy (Chiodo) to complement the both of us, So, I think it's going to be a good year.”

It was a stressful first half of the offseason for Jarry, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. He was in a holding pattern as Pittsburgh underwent big changes in management, and then Dubas did his due diligence before the Penguins inked Jarry to a five-year extension.

Like Nedeljkovic, Jarry feels like he’s in a good spot to start training camp, now that his contract situation is taken care of and he’s back to full health.

“It's obviously hard playing when you have that burden on your shoulders with a lot of unknowns, and just to have that done and over with is nice. You can focus on playing,” he said. “A big thing for me was getting healthy and getting back where I want to be, to be at the level that I wanted to play at.”

Sullivan said that’s an important aspect of Jarry getting off on the right foot, saying “when Tristan’s been healthy, he’s played some pretty solid hockey for us for long stretches of time. Our challenge is going to be putting him in a position to be successful. We’re going to try to manage workloads there so we can set him up for success. We're excited about the tandem that we have. I think we've got great competition at the goaltending position, so we've got some depth there as well."