Penguins A to Z: Emil Larmi's first North American season was hardly smooth - TribLIVE

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Emil Larmi

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Left

Age: 23

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 185 pounds

2019-20 AHL statistics: Nine games, 2-3-4 record, 3.55 goals-against average, .883 save percentage, zero shutouts

2019-20 ECHL statistics: 11 games, 4-7-0 record, 3.55 GAA, .908 save percentage, one shutout

Contract: First year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $792,500. Pending restricted free agent in 2021

Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, June 2, 2019

This season: The introduction to North American hockey was anything but smooth for the Finnish-born Larmi.

Shuffled between the AHL and ECHL (and even the NHL for one day), Larmi played all of 20 combined games in his first season on this continent. And he wasn’t all that successful with a combined record of 6-10-4 between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling.

Larmi was an intriguing signing last offseason. Having led HPK to the Liiga title in Finland in 2018-19, he provided depth at a position.

Things got off to a rocky start for Larmi when, during an AHL game Oct. 26, he passed out in the dressing room during the second intermission. Larmi was sidelined for approximately three weeks with an undisclosed health condition before returning to action.

In December, he was shuffled between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling twice before getting an improbable recall to the NHL roster Jan. 4 when goaltender Casey DeSmith misplaced his passport and could not travel to Montreal for the NHL Penguins’ game against the Canadiens. That prompted management to recall Larmi, who served as Matt Murray’s backup before being returned to Wheeling the next day.

Larmi was moved between the AHL Penguins and Nailers once more in February. By the time most sports leagues halted play in mid-March, Larmi finished his season on the Nailers’ roster.

The future: Given that general manager Jim Rutherford is a proponent of having surplus at the position, the Penguins’ depth is a bit bloated at goaltender throughout the organization.

Between Murray, DeSmith, Tristan Jarry, fellow prospect Alex D’Orio and veteran Dustin Tokarski, there are plenty of netminders worthy of commanding the crease for their respective teams.

Presumably, the Penguins will need to make a decision on Murray and Jarry, pending restricted free agents this upcoming offseason. If one is set free, there is a trickle-up effect, potentially opening a more regular spot in either Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or Wheeling. Additionally, Tokarski, who has served as DeSmith’s primary backup with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, is on a one-year AHL contract and could leave.

Regardless of where he plays next season, Larmi needs to make a greater impact than in 2018-19 if he hopes to become a regular component of the Penguins’, or any other team’s, NHL roster.

Athletic, intelligent and competitive, Larmi has the base elements to become an NHL goaltender. He just needs to put together a better body of work in a full North American season.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports