Penguins A to Z: Tristan Jarry remains a mystery
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Tristan Jarry
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Left
Age: 28
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 194 pounds
2022-23 NHL statistics: 47 games, 24-13-7 record, 2.90 goals against average, .909 save percentage, two shutouts
Contract: In the final year of a three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3.5 million. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
Acquired: Second-round draft pick (No. 44 overall), June 30, 2013
Last season: It was a curious and vague comment.
Following a 5-4 overtime road loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 12, Tristan Jarry revealed to media that had traveled to Montreal that he had been dealing with some physical “issues” and he was not “100%” healthy.
If Jarry ever had his full faculties in 2022-23 in terms of his well-being, that was a mystery.
Throughout the season, particularly in the second half, Jarry looked exactly like a goaltender who was fighting himself as much as he was battling the opposition.
Things started out well for Jarry who looked dominant in his first four games of the season, going 4-0-0 with a 2.01 goals against average and a .941 save percentage.
But that success was nullified by an individual five-game losing streak that was part of the team’s season-worst seven-game losing streak in late October and early November.
Whatever injury Jarry claimed to be dealing with in mid-November didn’t seem to be too daunting as he went on an 11-0-1 tear between Nov. 17 and Dec. 20 in which he posted a 1.90 goals against average, a .940 save percentage and one shutout.
But much like his team, Jarry’s fortunes seemed to plummet right around Christmas as they lost their final four games of the 2022 calendar year, with Jarry absorbing three of those defeats.
If there was an inflection point on Jarry’s season, it came during a 2-1 road loss to the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic when Jarry left the game in the first period.
That touched off a rocky final four-and-a-half months of the season for Jarry.
Things looked optimistic when he initially returned to the lineup and was very sharp in a 4-1 home win against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 20 as he made a season-best 44 saves.
But that proved to be a false hope as he played one more game before another undisclosed injury hobbled him for the better part of a month.
Back on the ice by Feb. 20, Jarry offered mixed results, going 5-5-1 in 13 games while offering a 3.78 goals against average and an .872 save percentage.
Following an impressive 5-2 road win against the Colorado Avalanche on March 22 in which he made 28 saves, Jarry was waylaid again by another undisclosed malady that sidelined him for three games.
After rebounding with one of his more resolute performances, a 2-0 home shutout of the Nashville Predators in which he made 28 saves on March 30, Jarry limped down the final weeks of the season going 2-3-1 in six games, along with a 2.86 goals against average and a .905 save percentage as the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Following the team’s season finale, a 2-1 overtime road loss to Columbus, Jarry revealed to Pittsburgh media that he had been “injured most of the year.”
The future: With the considerable exception of the Penguins’ still-vacant front office management roles, there is no bigger question for the franchise this offseason than Jarry’s status.
For the moment, he is this franchise’s starting goaltender. A two-time All-Star, he has shown he is capable of being a legit No. 1 goaltender, at least in the regular season.
But an increasingly voluminous medical chart has largely derailed his aspirations in the past two postseasons.
Moving on from Jarry wouldn’t be a decision without justification. But it wouldn’t be easy to find a replacement. First, the Penguins don’t have any NHL-ready prospects in net. And the potential unrestricted free agent market this upcoming offseason is limited, with Jarry being one of the better options available among goaltenders.
If the Penguins wanted to make a significant change at the position, a trade might be the best avenue to that pursuit, but such a transaction would clearly require seismic changes elsewhere on the roster at and below the NHL roster.
Keeping Jarry wouldn’t be an outrageous idea either based on the factors listed above. He is clearly talented and when healthy, he’s capable of being a goaltender a team can win with (even if he’s not necessarily a goaltender a team can win because of).
But his injury history can’t be ignored with whatever decision the Penguins ultimately make with him.
Because of that, he remains a mystery.