Tristan Jarry will have to put up a career year as the Pittsburgh Penguins' starting goalie.

Heading into the 2023 offseason, it was questionable if the Pittsburgh Penguins would run it back with Tristan Jarry as their starting goalie.

Not long after the season ended, a number of goalies emerged as possible options for the Penguins; almost all of them would have required a trade.

Connor Hellebuyck, John Gibson, and for a short time Carter Hart all seemed like viable possibilities.

As free agency approached, it seemed like they would take a look at the goalie market and allowed Jarry to listen to options himself.

Before too long, it was decided that Jarry would stick in Pittsburgh; for five years at $5.375 million, it was quite the gamble to take.

The expectations will be high for Jarry, and he needs to put together a much better season than he did in 2022-23.

Not that Jarry had a bad year, but it wasn’t anywhere near where he or the team wanted to be and the numbers reflected that.

In 47 games played, Jarry notched 24 wins, a .909 save percentage, and a 2.90 goals against average.

Sure, injuries got in the way of most of the season, but Jarry says he’s fully healthy and will look to get back to be much improved this upcoming season.

The Penguins will need that vast improvement and should be looking for a career year from Jarry.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Jarry should put up close to 40 wins this season.

Jarry’s previous career high in wins is 34 during the 2021-22; if Jarry can’t at least get to the 35-win mark, the Penguins could be in some trouble.

The Penguins are rolling with a duo of Jarry as the starter and newcomer Alex Nedeljkovic as the backup.

Nedeljkovic is a solid backup option, but there’s not telling what kind of season he is about to have.

Much like Jarry, Nedeljkovic is looking for a rebound season after struggling the last few years with the Detroit Red Wings.

There is no guarantee Nedeljkovic bounces back properly, putting a lot of pressure on Jarry as the starter.

Jarry should be capable, though; no one is questioning his skill, it’s just time for him to show it and post one of the best seasons a Penguins goalie has ever had.

For note, the Penguins’ record for wins in a single season is 43 held by Tom Barrasso during the 1992-93 campaign.

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