The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping for a rebound performance from Tristan Jarry.

Tristan Jarry enters the 2023-24 season looking to reaffirm his position as the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise goaltender. The organization showed a vote of confidence in his abilities this summer by signing him to a five-year, $26.87 million contract ($5.375 million AAV).

As the season begins, the focus for Jarry shifts from contract negotiations to regaining the form that earned him the Penguins' starting job in the first place. At his best, Jarry has proven to be one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, finishing with Vezina votes in two of his four seasons as the starter.

However, Jarry raised two major red flags with his performance last season, struggling to find consistency on the ice and in the training room. During training camp, the 28-year-old netminder has looked more like the former version of himself.

In two preseason games, Jarry has made 46 saves on 49 shots (.939 sv%) and has looked more confident than he did most of last season. With the Penguins organization experiencing a well-defined turning of the page from last season, Jarry has seemingly followed suit with his performance.

Jarry's health has been a topic of conversation all summer, but he has looked healthy in camp and has shown no signs of lingering issues. With his health paramount to the Penguins' success this season, Penguins President of Hockey Ops and General Manager Kyle Dubas reworked the rest of the goaltending room around him.

Dubas traded away Jarry's long-time backup, Casey DeSmith, after signing 27-year-old Alex Nedeljkovic to a one-year contract on July 1st. Nedeljkovic joined the Penguins in search of a rediscovery of his own. 

After beginning his NHL career with a 2021 Calder Trophy nomination with the Carolina Hurricanes, Nedeljkovic struggled to stack successful seasons and floundered with the Detroit Red Wings the past two years.

His resurgence is not evident, but Nedeljkovic has also looked strong this preseason, stopping 69 of the 75 shots (.920 sv%) he has faced through three games. Nedeljkovic reverting to his Carolina self would take pressure and games off Tristan Jarry's plate, keeping him healthier throughout the season.

Preseason results are not to be taken as gospel, especially regarding goaltending, but both Penguins' goaltenders are off to a good start. The Penguins will need them to carry that momentum and performance over to the regular season if they want to have hope of making it back into the postseason in 2024.

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