The Penguins have made a roster move in advance of their matchup against the Dallas Stars tonight. Kevin Hayes will be placed on IR due to an upper body injury and Sam Poulin will get the call to join the big club

The Penguins have recalled forward Sam Poulin from the @WBSPenguins (AHL).

Forward Kevin Hayes has been placed on Injured Reserve. pic.twitter.com/nVGmvMsBzQ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 11, 2024

Sam Poulin is the Penguins former first round pick back in 2019. To this point he hasn’t been able to gain enough traction to become an NHL regular. He’s had injuries, he’s taken time away from hockey for mental health reasons (a good thing to do), and as a result he hasn’t been able to build up his playing portfolio. So far this season he has nine points in 11 games down in WB/S. He is still only 23 years old even if it feels like he’s been around longer than he has. I have no problem seeing what Poulin has to offer. This team is a rotating cast of depth players, none of which who seem like they want to find a level of consistency. I come in with no expectations for Poulin. It won’t move the needle in one direction or another for this version of the Penguins, but it would be nice to see him bounce back from his career adversities.

Tristan Jarry is back in the NHL and I would expect him to see the net. Jarry gave up some clunkers while down in the AHL, but his overall numbers were what you would want to see. In his five games he had a .926 save percentage. I have enjoyed watching Joel Blomqvist play and he is the Penguins best goaltender in the organization right now. For the time being the Penguins are going to keep three goalies up. They have the cap space, they aren’t buyers, so it is fine to do so. After sending Jarry down it makes sense to see if their experiment can translate back to the NHL level. To be able to trade Jarry he needs to show NHL competency. He can’t do that if you don’t play him. So while I have no appetite to watch him play hockey, I will understand the decision to treat him as a 1A coming off his AHL stint.

After the Stars matchup tonight the team is slated to go up against Detroit, Columbus, and San Jose. Those three games in a row are as forgiving as it gets for the Penguins. We’ll have to see how they allocate the goaltender time share.

Joel Blomqvist is in his own net at the morning skate while Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic are sharing the net. It appears like Blomqvist is getting the nod tonight allowing Jarry to return against teams weaker than the Stars. Probably a good decision.

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