The Pittsburgh Penguins bucked their usual goalie trend about the same time a Hall of Famer had thoughts on the position.

PITTSBURGH – Heading into the 2023-24 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins knew as an organization that they would need two and possibly even three NHL-caliber goalies to get them through the season. Given the state of the goalie position, teams like the Penguins need to rest their netminders and keep them as fresh as possible.

Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur was notorious for being the only goalie of note on the New Jersey Devils for the better part of two decades. Brodeur would routinely play north of 70 games in an 82-game season.

Brodeur believes that the NHL is “babying” their goalies these days, saying to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that the position has changed and become much more volatile.

“It’s always going to be, ‘We can’t play back-to-back (games).’” Brodeur told the Athletic. “You’re so scared the No. 1 gets hurt. And so you baby that guy for the longest time.”

Currently an executive with the Devils, Brodeur doesn’t seem keen on letting goalies rest as much as they do now.

“So these guys are playing 55 games," he said. "They should be playing 65 to 70 games like we did.”

Brodeur is one of the greatest goalies of all time, with NHL records of 691 wins and 1,266 games played, allowing him to have that opinion. He’s played and won more than any other goalie in NHL history.

Despite those comments from an icon, the Penguins have recently bucked their tandem trend. Alex Nedeljkovic started this season as the Penguins' backup but has taken over with 10 straight starts. Even under normal circumstances, that is rare these days, but Nedeljkovic has earned points in each outing and helped pull the Penguins back into a playoff spot.

Nedeljovic noted that there are many reasons why goalies may appear more babied than when Brodeur played.

“Maybe the differences in scheduling,” Nedeljkovic said. “They didn’t go to every team in the league. Nowadays, we got to go everywhere. You’re doing a little bit more traveling in that aspect. You’re not taking a couple of 30-minute flights across the country and through customs a lot.”

Nedeljkovic recognizes that his workload is lighter than that of goalies like Brodeur played, but that’s just the way the game has shifted.

“Maybe there is some truth to it; it’s a little easier now,” Nedeljkovic said. “It’s nice when you can come in and play fresh and have some rest. If you have two guys that you trust… then why not do it?”

Seeing a former player of Brodeur’s ilk and era make comments like this isn’t groundbreaking; as sports change, there will always be critics saying the old days were better. Nedeljkovic understands where Brodeur’s comment may be coming from; after all, he played 10 straight seasons of 70+ games.

“Not really, because he did it,” Nedeljkovic said. “It’s not that surprising.”

Are the days of putting a 70-game workload on goalies over? Most likely, according to Nedeljkovic. Some guys, like Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, don’t like sitting out, but they are few and far between.

“I don’t think that you’re going to see it,” Nedeljkovic said. “You don’t need to do it.”

Nedeljkovic’s streak of starts might end at 10, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him finish the season and Tristan Jarry not touch the ice again. Head coach Mike Sullivan said Nedeljkovic has excellent endurance and loves playing the game.

“He loves to play,” Sullivan said. “He loves being on the ice, he’s got a passion for the position. He’s in great shape, and that’s what I mean when I say he’s got a good motor.”

The Penguins are about to enter their final three games of the season. Each game until the end will be do-or-die for them, and Nedeljkovic says he's ready to keep playing if he needs to. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Nedeljkovic finish the season on a Brodeur-style run of games.

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