Tristan Jarry is enjoying a bounce-back season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and it appears, with that, has a come a return to the rumour mill.
Jarry improved to 6-2-0 this season with a .914 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average in a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday. It was his first game since Nov. 3 as he returned from a lower-body injury.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports Jarry is among the netminders drawing significant interest as a potential option for the Edmonton Oilers, who have allowed a league-high 95 goals this season.
The 30-year-old Jarry’s resurgence has come after he cleared waivers last January after an 8-8-4 start to the season with a .886 save percentage and a 3.31 GAA. He would later rejoin the Penguins after an AHL stint and finished the season with a 16-12-6 record with a .893 save percentage and a 3.12 GAA.
Jarry has a career record of 158-99-31 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.74 GAA. He’s currently playing in the third season of a five-year, $26.88 million contract and carries a cap hit of $5.38 million.
Having missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, the Penguins entered this season expected to be sellers. However, at the often-important U.S. Thanksgiving mark, the Penguins currently hold the second wild-card spot andit’s unclear whether their plans have changed as an aging core pushes for, potentially, a final playoff run.
Off-season addition Arturs Silovs carried the majority of the load with Jarry sidelined over the past month. The 24-year-old netminder has a 4-3-4 record this season with a 2.73 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Rookie Sergei Murashov, 21, has also made four appearances, going 1-1-1 with a .913 save percentage and a 1.90 GAA.
The Oilers goaltending struggles are well documented this season, with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard combining for an .868 save percentage through 25 games. The back-to-back Stanley Cup finalists are 10-10-5 this season and currently sit outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
Skinner has an 8-7-3 record with an .878 save percentage and a 3.18 GAA, while Pickard is 2-3-2 with a .847 save percentage and a 4.04 GAA.
OverDrive hosts Bryan Hayes, Jeff O’Neill and Jonas Siegel discussed Weekes’ report on Wednesday and wondered whether Jarry or St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington would be a better fit for the struggling Oilers.
Binnington has a 5-5-5 record this season with a .881 save percentage and a 3.11 GAA. The 32-year-old netminder went 28-22-5 last season with a .900 save percentage and a 2.69 GAA.
Notably, Binnington backstopped Team Canada to victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. He’s signed through next season at a $6 million cap hit.
Watch the full debate below:
Jarry or Binnington: Better fit in Oilers crease? Bryan Hayes, Jeff O’Neill and Jonas Siegel discuss ESPN Insider Kevin Weekes’ report that the Oilers have interest in Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, and who would be a better fit in Edmonton between Jarry and Jordan Binnington.