What I’m hearing about the Penguins’ Erik Karlsson and Tristan Jarry situations

PITTSBURGH — The Erik Karlsson experience has been something to see.

Karlsson, a three-time Norris Trophy winner and future Hall of Famer, hasn't performed the way anyone hoped he would with the Pittsburgh Penguins . That isn't news.

His struggles seemed to peak last Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes when Karlsson was stunningly inept defensively on each of the Hurricanes' first two goals. He was on the ice for three of Carolina's five goals. He was also on the ice for — and played a negative role in — both of the Washington Capitals goals on Friday.

While Karlsson played extremely well otherwise in Washington, scoring a goal, recording a beautiful assist and making magic with the puck for much of the evening, the organization remains concerned about his game, his nonchalant attitude and his contract.

It's not that Karlsson isn't well-liked in the locker room. He's pretty popular. The 34-year-old Swede is intelligent, personable and charismatic. Everyone, coaches included, has a fondness for him.

But team sources paint a very concerning picture.

For starters, Karlsson is almost helpless when forced to defend toward the right side of the ice. If that sounds like too broad of a concept, watch the tape.

Watch Karlsson when the other team's left wing tries to take the puck to the outside. Watch him on odd-man rushes when it's required of him to move to the right or to focus in that direction. He either can't do it or won't do it. Teams basically have a free pass to attack Karlsson and the Penguins in that direction, with no evident resistance.

Carolina attacked Karlsson along the left wing boards twice in the opening period on Thursday. He typically turned to the center of the ice instead of taking his man, sometimes even pivoting to his left instead of to his right — a fundamentally simple misplay an NHL defenseman should never make.

Karlsson makes a beeline toward the puck carrier in these situations, an extremely high-risk play that once again indicates he isn't comfortable with forwards attacking him to his right.

Likely his most notoriously poor defensive play of the season came a couple of weeks ago in Vancouver, when since-traded Canucks forward Daniel Sprong danced right around the lunging Karlsson, setting up a goal.

To say the least, this kind of defending is an enormous problem for any defenseman, let alone one who plays more than 20 minutes a night.

The organization is concerned that Karlsson is unlikely to improve, and team sources are not thrilled with Karlsson's public comments suggesting he's playing well.

• The Penguins were frustrated with Tristan Jarry 's performance in the early going, which ultimately led to him heading to Wilkes-Barre for a couple of weeks. But I will tell you this: Plenty of people in the organization want to see him receive an extended amount of games in the NHL, simply to see what is there.

My sense is the Penguins are very eager to find out if Jarry can help them this season or not. There has never been a question about his physical talent, but rather, his mental approach and psychological state are the concerns.

No one really knows if Jarry is a broken goaltender or not, and even though his numbers in Wilkes-Barre have been good during his stint there, the AHL isn't the NHL. The Penguins know this, as does Jarry.

Expect to see Jarry play a good bit during the rest of the month, unless he immediately implodes upon his return. Make no mistake, the Penguins' coaching staff and many members of the front office want Jarry to snatch the No. 1 job. Given his talent level and his contract, it makes sense for all parties involved. Alex Nedeljkovic was re-signed to be a top-end backup. Jarry was given a five-year deal in the summer of 2023 to be the guy.

Absolutely no one knows what to expect from him. But the Penguins are very, very eager to gauge just where Jarry's game is. So much of the present and future depends on it.

• Regardless of whether Joel Blomqvist spends the majority of the season in Pittsburgh or in Wilkes-Barre, the Penguins' coaching staff knows what it has in him and is very pleased with his progress.

Blomqvist has always been a good prospect, but some in the organization were concerned with his progress — or lack thereof — following a disappointing playoff stint in the AHL last spring.

Those concerns have largely been muted because of Blomqvist's performance at the NHL during the past month.

Blomqvist has played well on the road against some of hockey's best teams, including Edmonton , Washington and Toronto . The Penguins love his mental toughness and love his talent. The team is very well aware it has a legitimate NHL goaltender in Blomqvist. Some in the organization do feel he could use some more seasoning in the AHL, but there's not much question in their minds that, come next season, he should permanently be in the NHL.

• Don't forget about Sergei Murashov. He is young and relatively raw, but the organization is very high on the goaltending prospect.

• Several team sources in recent days expressed cautious optimism that Ryan Graves is starting to turn a corner. The defenseman has been solid most of the season, especially in recent games.

Graves' performance last season was so poor that even Kyle Dubas admitted in his postseason press conference that the veteran needed to be considerably better moving forward. Used primarily on the third pairing this season, Graves has been a stable presence following a very shaky preseason. By no stretch has he been a shutdown defenseman, but there has been progress in his game.

(Photo of Erik Karlsson: Derek Cain / )