Tristan Jarry was in a bad spot after the 2020-21 season. His mistakes at crucial moments heavily contributed to the Penguins’ season-ending first-round loss to the New York Islanders, and there was speculation that offseason on whether the Penguins would go in a new direction in their crease. But last year, Jarry issued a powerful response to those doubters, going 34-18-6 with a .919 save percentage in 58 games played. Jarry looked every bit like an elite goalie and ranked just outside the top five goalies in save percentage and goals-against average.
While we didn’t get a chance to see Jarry play extended time in the Penguins’ playoff games, that hasn’t kept the Penguins from firmly believing in Jarry as their long-term solution in net. Jarry is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer, though, so his contract status could possibly keep him from being a Penguin long-term. That being said, the Penguins are likely to make every effort to keep him in Pittsburgh. Speaking to the media Friday, GM Ron Hextall said that the team had begun extension talks with Jarry and is fully invested in retaining him, via Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Tribune.
For a team that is intent on remaining competitive for the rest of the careers of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, it’s easy to see why they’d want to get a Jarry extension done as soon as possible.
Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:
More must-reads:
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