With Tristan Jarry’s days in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization seemingly numbered, the team added to its goaltending depth Sunday, signing 22-year-old Emil Larmi to a two-year, entry level contract.
Larmi emerged as one of the top unsigned goaltenders in Europe this season, leading HPK to a championship in Finland’s top pro league. In the playoffs, he recorded a 1.72 goals-against average and .932 save percentage. In the finals, he allowed nine goals in seven games.
“Emil is coming off of a fantastic playoff run with HPK, and has proved himself to be one of the best goaltenders in Liiga,” Penguins goaltending development coach Andy Chiodo said in a release. “He’s an athletic and mobile goaltender that reads the game well and is highly competitive. We are excited for Emil to join our organization as he transitions to life and hockey in North America.”
The 6-foot Larmi likely slots in third on the team’s goaltending depth chart behind Matt Murray and Casey DeSmith.
Jarry will have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors in the fall, so the Penguins can no longer safely consider him their No. 3 goalie. It is more likely they will trade Jarry this summer than expose him to waivers.
Jarry, a second-round pick in the 2013 draft, has been a solid AHL goalie during his four seasons in the Penguins organization, but his fate essentially was sealed when the team signed DeSmith to a three-year contract extension in January. Jarry is 14-8-3 with a .906 save percentage in limited NHL duty over the past three seasons.
The Penguins have one other goalie under NHL contract: 20-year-old Alex D’Orio, whose pro experience consists of one AHL game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the end of this season.
