If the Pittsburgh Penguins want to clear cap space and reconstruct a championship-caliber team around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the easiest path is moving on from Tristan Jarry’s burdensome contract.
In a head-scratching move, new Penguins GM Kyle Dubas handed Tristan Jarry a six-year contract extension worth $26.875 million last offseason. The 29-year-old followed up that extension with his worst as a regular starter, going 19-25-5 with a .903 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average.
Per PuckPedia, Jarry carries a $5.375 million cap hit over the next five years. That is just too much money for a mediocre starting goalie on an ageing Penguins team trying to remain in contention.
But Jarry has proven his ability to be a legitimate No. 1 goalie in the past, especially when he guided the Pens to three straight playoff appearances from 2019-20 to 2021-22. If he lands in the right system, Jarry just might re-emerge as a quality starting goalie.
One team that makes perfect sense for Tristan Jarry is the Detroit Red Wings, who only missed out on the playoffs on a tiebreaker to the Washington Capitals for the No. 8 seed last year. That was despite lackluster goaltending from the trio of Alex Lyon, James Reimer and Ville Husso.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NHL stories via Google! Follow Us
Jarry might regain his top form on a promising Detroit team led by stars Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat and Moritz Seider. At the very least, he’d be a clear-cut upgrade over Detroit’s current goalie room of Lyon, Husso and newcomer Cam Talbot.
What Red Wings Should Offer Penguins For Tristan Jarry
Detroit GM Steve Yzerman should offer Husso and veteran forward Andrew Copp to the Penguins for Jarry. Though Detroit would be getting the better goalie in the deal, Copp balances out the trade as a quality bottom-six forward for Mike Sullivan’s Pens.
The Penguins need cap space. The Red Wings merely need average to above-average goaltending to win. Add it all up, and a Jarry trade to Detroit just makes perfect sense for both teams.
