What will an extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins look like for Tristan Jarry?
The Pittsburgh Penguins have their core locked up after the work of General Manager Ron Hextall this summer. As the team moves forward into the 2022-2023 season, one more core player is looking for a long-term extension, goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Since taking over for Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray, Jarry has battled through playoff blunders and injury to cement himself as the Penguin's number one goalie. Entering the final season of his current contract, Jarry will be looking for a pay increase, but what exactly can we expect his next contract to look like?
Comparisons
The goalie market has been an interesting one over the past several seasons. Except for world-class goaltender Andrei Vasilevski and the head-scratching deal given to Sergei Bobrovsky, no other netminder has secured as lucrative a deal. However, many goalies around the league have found long-term contracts. Look, for example, at this current off-season.
The Washington Capitals handed out a five-year deal with a $5.25 million cap hit to Darcy Kuemper, fresh off of a Stanley Cup Championship. The summer before this one, starters Jusse Saros, Jordan Binnington, Philip Grubauer, and standout Igor Shesterkin signed extensions for $6 million or less per season.
Teams are less willing to pay a premium for goalies over longer periods. With recent cup winners (except Tampa Bay) relying on solid but not excellent goaltending, the market has seemed to dip compared to the other positions.
Perhaps the closest comparison to Tristan Jarry's situation is Vancouver's situation with Thatcher Demko. This off-season, the Canucks inked their starter to a five-year extension that pays him $5 million per season. Demko played 64 games in 2021-2022, winning 33 games and posting a 2.72 GAA and 915% save percentage.
It's a fantastic contract for Vancouver, solidifying a position of need with a talented goaltender still coming into his own. For Demko, he makes arguably as much as he would if he had tested the open market.
The Negotiations Ahead
If they haven't already, Tristan Jarry and the Penguins will enter contract discussions throughout the season. Jarry should be looking for a five or six-year contract as he enters his age 27 campaign. Battling through two shortened seasons, a goalie competition with Matt Murray, and playoff woes, Jarry has emerged as a top 15 goaltender in the league.
He notched his second all-star appearance this past season and posted a commendable 2.42 goals allowed average and a .919 save percentage. His agent will likely use the goalies above for comparison and command a hefty deal. The Penguins will try their best to reduce his asking price, but they will have to offer another long-term extension to keep Jarry around.
The Contract
After going through the negotiations and the lack of alternative starters, the Penguins will emerge with a new commitment to Tristan Jarry. Don't expect it to be a standard setting deal for the goaltending market, but it will be in the same ballpark as Markstrom and Binnington's deals. The Penguins will sign Jarry to a six-year contract worth $5.5 million per season, keeping him in Pittsburgh into his early 30's.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in for a roller coaster season, and the negotiations between them and Tristan Jarry will factor in considerably to that. Having Jarry around will solidify their goaltending situation for years to come. But there are still several questions surrounding how much Jarry and this team can achieve this upcoming season.
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