Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in trouble with goaltender Tristan Jarry. The 29-year-old netminder has started the season poorly, posting a 5.47 goals-against average and a .836 save percentage in three appearances, seemingly losing the starter’s job as Alex Nedeljkovic’s backup. And Saturday morning, Penns GM Kyle Dubas sent Jarry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American League on a conditioning loan to regain his good standing with the team.
The biggest thing that may need conditioning is Jarry’s mental game. Under the pressure of a salary of $5.375 million per season – through this season and the next three – Jarry has to fight through these tough times, knowing that people don’t have a good feeling about his overall performance. And if Jarry doesn’t recover quickly, he may become more familiar with the AHL than he otherwise would like.
If Jarry doesn’t manage to get back into top form, he could be waived and buried in Wilkes-Barre for the remainder of the season. And if things deteriorate to that point, Jarry could find himself buying out his contract. Certainly, no team is going to pick up Jarry’s salary at this point, even if they view him as a reclamation project. Pittsburgh can’t buy out any more players this season — they’re already at the maximum three buyouts allowed — but if Jarry isn’t good enough to perform at the NHL level, the Penguins will have to keep a huge amount of that salary. so that other teams would consider taking Jarry’s deal in a trade. So a buyout makes much more sense, even if it means keeping Jarry’s money on the books for another six years.
Related: Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry at career crossroads, and his time with Pens could be nearing an end
It wasn’t that long ago that Jarry seemed bulletproof in Pittsburgh. In 2019-20, he posted a .921 SP and 2.43 GAA. And in 2021-22, Jarry had a .919 SP and 2.42 GAA. So there’s a reason for Pens fans to hope that Jarry can figure out what’s wrong with him and win. the number 1 spot back. But time is of the essence, and Jarry must use his time in the AHL to quickly regain his confidence and become a fundamentally sound competitor.
If that doesn’t happen, Jarry will be a footnote in Penguins history. And if the Pens are going to make the playoffs this year, another netminder will have to step up, because as it stands right now, Jarry isn’t ready to take on the challenge.
