Goalie Tristan Jarry is waived by the Penguins after a disastrous first half of the season

On By Littum

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. – In a bombshell announcement Wednesday, the Penguins said they will place goaltender Tristan Jarry on waivers.

If he clears waivers — team sources said they would be “very surprised” if any NHL claimed Jarry and his big salary — the plan is to send the struggling goaltender to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate .

Jarry signed a five-year contract on July 1, 2023 that pays him more than $5 million annually. He has been a disaster for the Penguins this season and already spent a stint in Wilkes-Barre early this season.

Although Jarry showed small signs of improvement after being sent down to Wilkes-Barre, he has never been the goaltender the Penguins need him to be.

Jarry is a two-time NHL All-Star, but throughout his career, his splits in the second half of the season have dropped significantly. His career playoff record as Penguins goaltender is 2-6, and his fumble in Game 5 of the 2021 postseason against the Islanders — a turnover that directly led to New York’s game-winning goal in overtime — will always be remembered as the moment his Penguins career began to decline.

Jarry’s numbers are particularly atrocious this season: He has a 3.31 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage.

Tristan Jarry’s Penguins stats by year

Season Starting Save % GO Closing

2016-17

1

0.880

3.06

0

2017-18

23

0.908

2.77

2

2018-19

2

0.887

3.50

0

2019-20*

31

0.921

2.43

3

2020-21

38

0.909

2.75

2

2021-22*

56

0.919

2.42

4

2022-23

47

0.909

2.90

2

2023-24

48

0.903

2.91

6

2024-25

20

0.886

3.31

0

(*-All-Star Season; Data: Hockey-Reference.com)

The Penguins have grown frustrated with Jarry’s play this season, which came to a boiling point during their most recent 1-3-1 home stretch when Jarry went 0-2-1 and was on the ice for two third-period meltdowns. The Penguins dominated their last two games against Tampa Bay and Seattle, but lost, largely because Jarry allowed three goals on 17 shots in each of those games.

Jarry, 29, has three years left on his contract after this season. An NHL team has 24 hours to claim him. If that happened, it would be Christmas in January for the Penguins, who would be relieved to have to pay him for the next three and a half seasons. However, the odds of that are minimal at best.

The Penguins will gain a little more than $1 million in salary cap space if Jarry goes to Wilkes-Barre after clearing waivers.

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(Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)