The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to trade goalie Tristan Jarry this offseason, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston.
The Penguins signed Jarry to a five-year $28.875 million deal on July 1, 2023, to keep him as their starting goalie. However, after just one season of the deal, Johnston said on ‘The Chris Johnston Show’ on SDPN that the Penguins will try and trade him this offseason.
“If you are looking for more of a sure thing, I’m not sure Tristan Jarry is a sure thing, but maybe in that environment, in that marketplace, Pittsburgh could move off of him. I think they will certainly try,” Johnston said on June 23… “I will be curious to see if Pittsburgh can find a home for Jarry in that environment.”
Jarry does have a 12-team no-trade list, so he does have a bit of say on where he would be traded to if Pittsburgh does opt to trade him.
Jarry went 19-25-5 with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage with the Penguins last season. The goalie was drafted by Pittsburgh 44th overall in the 2013 NHL draft and has played the last five seasons with the Penguins.
Penguins Reporter Expects Jarry to be Traded
Penguins columnist Mark Madden of Triblive expects Pittsburgh to trade Jarry this summer.
Jarry started 51 games last season, but the Penguins re-signed Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year $5 million extension on June 20, which Madden believes makes Jarry expendable.
“Nedeljkovic is reasonably priced at $5 million over two years. (I thought he could get more elsewhere.) He’s a solid journeyman-level goalie,” Madden wrote in his article on June 21. “But retaining Nedeljkovic, 28, forms a crowd at the goaltending position. It blocks Joel Blomqvist’s ascension to the NHL…
“So, the Penguins have to trade Jarry. That’s the only way keeping Nedeljkovic computes. Like Donnie Iris. Re-upping Nedeljkovic is likely a sign that president of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas feels he can swap Jarry,” Madden added.
As Madden writes, the Penguins do have Blomqvist in the minors who is pushing for NHL playing time. Blomqvist is 20-years-old and was drafted 52nd overall in 2020 by the Penguins. Last season, in the AHL, Blomqvist went 25-12-6 with a 2.16 GAA and a .921 SV%.
Madden also believes that general manager Kyle Dubas made a mistake by re-signing Jarry, as the columnist says the goalie is too inconsistent.
“The Penguins extended Jarry last July because he was the devil they knew. Which is exactly why they shouldn’t have,” Madden wrote. “Jarry was same old, same old this past season: He appeared unconcerned, not least when Nedeljkovic took the No. 1 spot away from him during the stretch run. The Penguins didn’t like his reaction (or lack thereof) to that.
“Jarry, 29, doesn’t rise to big moments. He’s prone to crippling mistakes, like his turnover in the second overtime that lost a playoff game to the New York Islanders in 2021. He’s been with the Penguins eight years and never won a playoff series. He oozes inconsistency,” Madden added.
In the NHL playoffs, Jarry is 2-6 with a 3.00 GA and a .891 SV%.
Penguins Re-Sign Nedeljkovic
Pittsburgh decided to re-sign Nedeljkovic to a two-year deal after completing the one-year $1.5 million deal he signed on July 1.
Nedeljkovic was expected to be the backup for Jarry, but he took over as the starting goalie down the stretch. He finished the year going 18-7-7 with a 2.97 GAA and a .902 SV%.
Nedeljkovic signed with Pittsburgh after a two-year stint with the Detroit Red Wings. He began his NHL career with the Carolina Hurricanes who drafted him 37th overall in the 2014 NHL draft.
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Insider: Penguins Will ‘Try’ to Trade $26.8 Million Goalie