A change in the goaltending formula would be beneficial for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tristan Jarry.
Tristan Jarry has been ruled out of the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup until after the NHL All-Star break with an upper-body injury.
It’s not an ideal situation for the Penguins to have their starting goalie on the shelf again this season, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to cut him loose.
Quite a few fans have taken that leap with this new injury and have suggested the team either trade Jarry before the deadline or let him walk to free agency over the summer.
Neither of those options should be considered for the Penguins front office; is it ideal to have your starting goalie injured for a number of games? No, but this opens up other opportunities.
If the Penguins are fully committed to Jarry as their starting goalie for years to come, they need to use this injury history into their favor but also make an adjustment.
When negotiations begin for Jarry and a new contract, this list of ailments should shrink the dollar amount in the deal.
A team doesn’t want to pay top dollar for a vital role player if he’s going to miss a multitude of games every season.
If the Penguins can get Jarry to go down on the price tag, that should spur a new movement for the team’s goalies.
With Jarry and Casey DeSmith, it’s an obvious starter and backup situation; the Penguins ideally need to switch to 1A and 1B, and do it fast.
DeSmith has paid his dues as a solid back up in Pittsburgh for a number of years, but his time has run out.
In 20 games this season, DeSmith has only recorded seven wins and is just barely holding on to a .900 save percentage.
That’s not good enough, even for a backup in the league; general manager Ron Hextall signed him for two years over the summer, but they can’t allow that deal to finish in Pittsburgh.
Adopting the 1A/1B layout means Jarry doesn’t have to play extra games to cover for a sagging DeSmith.
Jarry could rest a few extra games rather than make the nearly 60 appearances like he did in 2021-22.
Just because he’s injury prone doesn’t mean you cut ties, especially in Pittsburgh where every star deals with injuries.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have all battled their own injuries and are still some of the best in the NHL.
Jarry can ride with some of the top goalie in the league, too, he just needs a little extra rest on occasion.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins