The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t seem to be heading in a new direction in net as they opted to re-sign their starter, Tristan Jarry to a five-year, $5.375 million average annual value (AAV) deal. Whether it took so long because of the money, term, or performance, the team feels like they should stick with their goaltender who can help them make one final Stanley Cup push while the core remains together. The Penguins have run with the same goaltending tandem for the past three seasons with Jarry at the helm and Casey DeSmith behind him. It hasn’t worked out to the level the team had hoped for as they failed to get out of the first round twice and most recently missed the playoffs.
The team hasn’t made it out of the first round since 2017-18 and time is running out for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. With new management comes changes, but after a bit of time, the Penguins and Jarry decided that they could reach their goals together. He was drafted in the second round by the Penguins (44th overall) back in 2013 and got his first crack in the NHL in 2016-17, playing just one game. Even with an impressive rookie showing in a split backup role the following season behind Matt Murray, Jarry was once again sent to play the majority of 2018-19 in the minors. It wasn’t until 2019-20 that he established himself as a full-time NHLer.
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Jarry burst back onto the scene behind a struggling Murray and put up an impressive .921 save percentage (SV%). This gave the Penguins the confidence to trade Murray and run with Jarry as the starter for the past three years. The timetable for the two sides doesn’t exactly line up, but he will continue to be the man in net in his prime for the next five years.
Jarry’s Fit with the Penguins
Jarry’s numbers might fluctuate a bit year by year, but his SV% has never dipped below .908 in his career, and that came in his rookie season. In his “down seasons,” he finished with a .909 SV%, but it just so happens that came in his contract year when his goals saved above expected (GSAx) was minus-2.8.
His two impressive seasons saw him rank seventh in Vezina Trophy voting both times, ending with a .921 and .919 SV%. He is only 28 and is fully capable of being one of the best goalies in the NHL, even without an amazing defensive group in front of him. The Penguins are once again trying to rework their defense and bring in more defensively-minded players to hopefully help out next season.
The Penguins have just a few years left of being competitive before they finally have to rebuild, so Jarry might be stuck in Pittsburgh for a few seasons after they sink. There’s no telling if he makes it through all five years of this deal, but he should continue to put up great numbers. The Penguins still have DeSmith and now Alex Nedeljkovic, neither of whom should challenge Jarry for the starting job, but are there in case injuries happen. Of the goalies that were available, Jarry was one of the best, and it was a great decision to keep him around.