https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2023/07/02/pittsburgh-penguins-tristan-jarry-kyle-dubas-nhl-free-agency-column/stories/202307020139
This Jarry contract is being blown out of the water. There was not a better goaltender in free agency then Jarry and to get a goaltender that is equal or better then him we would of had to trade probably a few pretty items for it.
Would I have signed him to a 5-year, $5.3M/year contract? No, I would of negotiated for more of a prove it deal type contract, but I’m not an NHL GM. If Jarry is healthy, Jarry is very good. If he stays healthy for this contract, people will look back and say what a great call. If not, then people like me will look back and say it was really our only logical option and the ceiling was worth the risk.
14 comments
What does the fan base want here:
Three viable goalie options supporting and pushing each other for the season?
OR
Connor Hellebuyck w/ Casey Desmith backing him up but probably minus 1-2 of the FA deals we made and also likely minus a prospect and pick.
If we were going to get a goalie, it should have been at the trade deadline. Every team saw we had our backs against the wall in the goalie market. We would have gotten *fleeced* if we went the trade route.
It’s Ron Cook, what do you expect? Only sports writer in town with less of a clue about hockey is Paul “uuuugghhh” Zeise.
Would I have liked a different goalie? Yes! However, Jarry is here in Pittsburgh and will be for some time. So, I hope he stays healthy and plays at his potential all star level.
Is the Jarry contract ideal? No. But yeah, it’s not like there were any better options. I’m sure Dubas did his due diligence and concluded the same.
I didn’t want Jarry/DeSmith back. They’ve been either bad or unavailable when the team needs them most. But the backlash has gone overboard, IMHO. If the cap goes up next year, like expected, players in the $5-ish range won’t look as expensive as they do right this moment.
And for all my criticisms of Jarry, he’s still not exactly late ’00s Dan Cloutier, either. Hopefully Dubas and the Pens medical staff did their due diligence, and made the best move they believed was available.
Several teams were apparently ready to commit to him long term, a “prove it” deal wasn’t an option considering that. He would have just gone elsewhere and gotten his 5x5M+.LAK was in on him, I assume WPG was too from Hellebuyck leaving, OTT was likely, NJD was rumored earlier in the offseason.
I think Dubas won where nobody seems to be commenting on and where it was most important. Jarry has a M-NTC for 12 teams which means if he works out we win on the deal and if he doesn’t we can trade him. I guarantee there was another offer brewing on Jarry. Dubas made the right move here in my opinion. More term with trade potential is better than shorter term with full no movement clause.
Tristan jarry with his new deal is the 12th highest paid goalie in the league.
Just comparing numbers from last season, which people are saying is proof jarry was horrible.
He played more games than 4 of them.
He had more wins than 6 of them.
He had more shutouts than 7 of them.
He had a better goals against average than 6 of them.
He had a better save percentage than 8 of them.
People are dumb. I want to say it’s a typical dumbass pittsburgh sports fan overreaction, but I’m seeing people from all over the nhl fan base talking smack on the deal…
There was no one better, and his deal falls in line fairly well with the rest of the league.
I just think defense makes a goalie look better. Not that some goalies don’t have more talent than others, but there’s plenty of examples of sub par goalies having great seasons. Look at ullmark in Boston. Jim Montgomery made Anton khudobin and Ben bishop look great for a few year in Dallas. Vegas rolls out like 3 different goalies every year and yet they won the cup. Pens defense is below average.
Dubas strikes me as a person and GM that takes into account everything before making a move. His Toronto days are something to reflect on (good and bad), absolutely, but he’s now here. It’s a whole new situation, whole new market, whole new fan base, and whole new media to deal with. I doubt he threw his hands up and said, “Well, fuck it. I guess I’ll just go with Jarry.” I am sure once Dubas signed on with the team that looking to extend/not extend Jarry was one of, if not, his top priorities. I am sure he had extensive talks with Sully, teammates, other coaching staff/trainers, doctors, and Jarry himself. This deal was made with confidence, not haste, so I respect Dubas’s decision to hand the contract out.
Am I happy about it? Meh. I would have preferred a new goalie and have countless times over the last few months advocated to get one. Is it probably too much and for too long? Yes. But I’ve got my trust in Dubas that he felt this was the best option for the team. Hopefully Jarry does his part of the bargain and plays lights out to bring us into Cup contention.
Overall, Jarry is signed and I’m looking forward to seeing how it pans out.
He’s not a lights out goalie and never will be but they can win with him if he’s healthy as long as they improve in other areas, which I see happening.
I don’t get the Jarry hate. When he is healthy he is a good goalie, not saying world beater a good goalie. I would think with hopefully improved defensive play in front of net, he is going to be better than last season.
It’s one thing if our D corp was top 5 & he was struggling, but it was pretty obvi our D was below average last season.
It’s interesting though. I actually agree with your perspective, Dubas was made the best he could out of a shitty situation and shitty goalie market. But playing devil’s advocate, would we still have that perspective if the same deal had been signed by Hextall instead of Dubas?
The true story on Jarry is unwritten yet. He’s a good goalie that has been injury prone. He’s unproven in the playoffs with very limited playing time but very good in the regular season, 2 time all star. He is still young and has time to prove himself. A lot of goalies don’t come into their own until they hit their 30’s. A better defensive corp and a better back up that can handle a significant workload would help him out tremendously. Unless an unforeseen trade happens Jarry was pretty much the best of what was out there in free agency considering what Dubas had to work with. He’s betting on Jarry to be healthy, he already knows he can be good.