Tristan Jarry's Days With Penguins Are Numbered
With the Penguins signing another goaltender to an extension, does it mean Tristan Jarry is on his way out?
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins made a surprising but encouraging move by bringing back goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. The team announced a two-year extension for Nedeljkovic, with an average annual value of $2.5 million.
With the deal, the Penguins have two quality goaltenders on their roster. They also have just under $8 million devoted to their goaltending tandem. Given the way the 2023-24 season ended, it's unclear who the starter will be for the Penguins on opening night.
If the team feels Nedeljkovic is capable of starting, why would they keep Jarry on the roster?
Jarry is entering the second season of a contract extension he signed last summer. The deal runs through the 2027-28 season and pays him $5.375 million annually. In his first season under the new contract, he struggled.
He failed to reach the 20-win mark for the first time since 2018-19. To his credit, he also managed a goals-against average of 2.91 and posted a .903 save percentage. When he was in the lineup, he showed that he could be that $5 million goaltender.
Jarry struggles to stay healthy in most seasons. His career-high games played is 58 during the 2021-22 season. In the two years since he's played in 47 and 51 games respectively.
Nedeljkovic had his own ailments, but shown to be durable, coming with a less extensive medical report. If the Penguins want to commit to the safer pick in the net, they'd go with Ned.
There's also the money aspect in all of this. The Pens had roughly $13 million in free cap space before the Nedeljkovic signing. With several holes to fill in the lineup, Kyle Dubas needs to make another move to give his team additional funds to work with in free agency and throughout the summer.
Jarry's contract is the fifth-highest salary on the Penguins payroll. While there are other contracts the team might prefer to move, like Reilly Smith or Ryan Graves, Jarry might fetch the best return in addition to freeing up cap space.
If the Penguins choose to move on from Jarry, they will have suitors. The trade market is heating up for goaltenders, and Dubas may not be able to resist dipping his toes in. With so much up in the air, Tristan Jarry's days as a Penguin could be numbered.
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