Joel Blomqvist’s sightline of a full-time role in Pittsburgh couldn’t have been clearer in January, when the Penguins called him back to the NHL for an extended audition.

He was a rookie All-Star in the American Hockey League in 2023-24 and a rare bright spot for the NHL club last fall. The business side of the game factored into him being sent back to the AHL earlier in the season, but this was his chance to stay for good.

“We think over the past year and a half, with his play in Wilkes-Barre and when he’s been up here with us, he’s earned the right to have a go at it,” Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas said at the time. “And we get a chance to see what he can do.”

It couldn’t have gone much worse. He went 1-4-1 with a .854 save percentage, was sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton th

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