Goaltender Tristan Jarry remains Penguins' future at position after signing 5-year deal
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In 2013, the Pittsburgh Penguins invested a second-round draft pick into their potential goaltender of the future.
In 2023, they invested five years and lot of money to ensure Tristan Jarry will remain their goaltender for the foreseeable future.
In his biggest decision since taking over as the team’s president of hockey operations one month prior, Kyle Dubas determined Jarry was the team’s best option in net as the franchise tries to find a route back to being a playoff-caliber outfit and a Stanley Cup contender.
That led Dubas to re-sign Jarry on Saturday to a five-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $5.375 million. According to Cap Friendly, the deal contains a modified no-trade clause that permits Jarry to submit a list of 12 teams he would not accept a trade to.
The salary cap hit is the second largest in franchise history for a goaltender. Only Marc-Andre Fleury ($5.75 million on a four-year contract signed in 2014) had a higher such figure.
Barely on the job for four weeks, Dubas took the time to travel to visit Jarry in Edmonton, Alberta, approximately two weeks ago before deciding to formally initiate negotiations.
“That was a key part for me,” Dubas said Saturday at the team’s facility in Cranberry. “I know what everyone thinks of Tristan inside the (organization). I felt it was incumbent upon me to learn about him. And for he and (Jarry’s wife) Hannah to have a chance to get to know me personally. Once I took the information that I had from our goaltending department, our coaching staff, our player personnel department, everyone else in the facility about his character, I added my own short evaluation to it, and at that point, we were firmly engaged with his camp.
“Then … we met with them early in the week in Nashville (during the NHL’s recent awards presentation and draft) and exchanged offers and then were able to work with (Jarry’s agent Craig Oster) to come to a conclusion there.”
For many external observers of the Penguins, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Jarry’s time with the franchise had come to an end after a rocky 2022-23 season in which he battled multiple injuries, particularly in the second half of the campaign.
Starting with a 2-1 road loss to the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park during the NHL’s Winter Classic on Jan. 2 when he pulled himself from the ice with an apparent right leg ailment, Jarry missed 17 of a possible 45 games because of various injuries (not including games he was officially dressed for).
And when he was able to be on the ice, Jarry wasn’t particularly sharp. In his final 22 games of 2022-23, Jarry had a 9-8-3 record, a 3.08 goals-against average, an .898 save percentage and one shutout. His health was a leading factor in the Penguins missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Preceding his struggles last season, Jarry suffered a broken left foot late in the 2021-22 campaign. Had he been healthy then, he might have been able to play more than the one game he did during the Penguins’ first-round loss to the New York Rangers in the postseason.
And despite serving as the Penguins’ starting goaltender for the past three seasons, Jarry has little in the way of postseason success. He struggled badly during a first-round playoff loss to the New York Islanders, going 2-4 in that series with a 3.18 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage.
In eight career playoff games, Jarry has a 2-6 record, a 3.00 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage.
Dubas took in a far broader scope, however, when evaluating Jarry, a two-time All-Star.
“It’s looking at the whole sample,” Dubas said. “Tristan has played the sixth-most games (144) in the league and won the fifth-most (83) I think in the last three seasons. The injury stuff, I don’t want to make it more pronounced than it was because even with the injuries, he still played (47) games this (past season), which is a credit to Tristan. It started with the freak thing going into the (2022 playoffs) with (Islanders forward) Anders Lee kind of falling on him. One thing kind of rolls into the other with it. But he still played through (injuries) and was able to still play well. He would be the first to tell you, he wants to continue to be better.”
“His sample shows that he is capable of being better. That, the larger sample, made me comfortable. But more importantly than that, just the view of the people (in the organization). Then with myself, getting to know Tristan. That is what made me comfortable to go down that path with him. It’s been very clear to him what my expectations are in terms of him continuing to be in great shape, put himself to be in position to be as healthy as possible and to continue to play the number of games that he has.”
While Dubas professed confidence in Jarry, he did make one addition to the position by signing former Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to a one-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $1.5 million.
With Jarry, Nedeljkovic and incumbent Casey DeSmith (one year remaining on his contract at $1.8 million), the Penguins currently have three goaltenders on one-way NHL contracts.
Dubas wants to avoid a repeat of what has happened in past seasons with regard to the Penguins’ depth at the position. He even indicated he will pursue another goaltender.
“It’s something that’s becoming more regular in the league is that there is a lot of injuries at the position,” Dubas said. “The demands of the position, the way that it has changed, the way that the goaltenders play it makes it more demanding. There are very few goalies that go through the year without an injury. If you don’t have the depth there built up and you don’t have a system in place, you can really leave yourself short-handed.
“We’ve got (prospects) Joel Blomqvist … we have Taylor Gauthier that are going to be there in the minors for sure just because they need the (playing) time. But subsequent to that, I think we need one more kind of solid veteran guy, then let everyone come in here in training camp and let it fly. The competition is an important thing for the group as well in addition to pushing Tristan and showing that we have suitable people there. Regardless of what the contract status of the players is, we need to build that competition up and also protect our depth and give our team the best chance to win every night. Goaltending is the one place where you especially need that depth.”
For the Penguins, that depth will start with Jarry for the next half-decade.
“What I learned from (meeting Jarry and his wife) in Edmonton, I was very comfortable with that,” Dubas said. “That he was going to be able to hold up his end of the bargain and continue to get better for us. And at his age as well, looking at the market, we just felt it was the best bet to make for our club at this time.”
Source: TribLIVE
