Trade Pitch Has Red Wings Acquiring $26 Million Goalie in Blockbuster

Getty Trade pitch has Red Wings acquiring Tristan Jarry.

The Detroit Red Wings haven’t had a true No. 1 goalie in years and a trade pitch has them acquiring one in an intriguing deal.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Red Wings acquiring Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a blockbuster.

Red Wings acquire:

• Tristan Jarry
• Ryan Graves ($750k retained)
• Samuel Poulin
• 2025 third-round pick (Minnesota’s)
• 2026 seventh-round pick (Chicago’s)

Penguins acquire:

• Cam Talbot
• Ben Chiarot
• Andrew Copp
• 2025 second-round pick
• 2026 fourth-round pick

The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as the main part of the deal would be the goalie swap, while in total six NHL players and four draft picks get moved.

Detroit would acquire Jarry who’s in the second year of his five-year $26.88 million deal. Jarry has struggled to be the Penguins starting goalie and was even a healthy scratch on October 20. It seems likely Pittsburgh will try to move on from him and the Red Wings take a chance on acquiring the former star goalie.

Graves, meanwhile, is in the second year of his six-year $27 million deal. The defenseman could replace Chiarot and help solidify the Red Wings blue line. Poulin, meanwhile, was selected 21st overall in the 2019 NHL draft and has appeared in three NHL games in each of the past two seasons.

In return, Pittsburgh would acquire Talbot who signed a two-year $5 million deal with Detroit in the offseason. The former All-Star could help solidify the Penguins net and potentially lead Pittsburgh to the playoffs.

Chiarot is in the third year of his four-year $19 million deal. The defenseman has struggled in Detroit but could replace Graves. Copp is in the third year of his five-year $28.13 million deal and could add some physicality and scoring to the middle of the lineup.

Analyst Calls Jarry Unplayable

Jarry entered the season looking to put last year’s disappointing season behind him.

However, to begin the 2024-25 NHL season, Jarry has struggled as through October 21 he’s 1-1 with a 5.47 GAA and a .836 SV%. It has been a disappointing start and The Athletic’s Penguins analyst Josh Yohe says the goalie is unplayable.

“I don’t even know if he’s playable right now. That’s how bad and woefully unimpressive he’s been,” Yohe wrote.

Yohe also claims the Penguins don’t have a plan with Jarry and isn’t sure when he will return to the crease.

“The Penguins don’t really have a plan,” Yohe wrote. “That’s not an insult. Sullivan just wants to win. To ride the hot hand. To let the No. 1 goalie establish himself over time so that no one is guessing. Jarry can be that guy if he wants, but he has to prove himself in game action, and there is precious little evidence that the coaching staff believes in him.

“This is a very different approach for Sullivan. In the past, he would have shown patience alongside his legendary stubbornness. Not this season. Not by a long shot,” Yohe added. “Jarry has already been on the bench in three of seven games. Until he shows real signs of improvement in practice, we won’t see him in a game.”

Jarry was selected 44th overall in the 2013 NHL draft by the Penguins.

Red Wings Not Giving Up on Struggling Goalie

Detroit entered the season with three goalies on its NHL roster Ville Husso, Talbot, and Alex Lyon.

However, after struggling in his start, Husso was placed on waivers. Husso ended up clearing waivers but coach Derek Lalonde said they aren’t giving up on the goalie.

“Tough conversation, always,” Lalonde told the Free Press. “It is a business, you’re managing your roster. It was very similar to what I did with Justin [Holl] – we haven’t given up on you. We asked Justin to be ready; literally 24 hours later, he was in our lineup. We haven’t given up on Ville. He might see the net again here soon.”

Through October 21, Husso is 0-1 with a 9.42 GAA and a .714 SV%.