Jarry sent to AHL by Penguins after clearing waivers

CRANBERRY, Pa. — Tristan Jarry was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday, a day after the Pittsburgh Penguins placed him on waivers.

The 29-year-old goalie, who cleared waivers Thursday, is in the second season of a five-year, $26.875 million contract (average annual value of $5.375 million) that runs through the 2027-28 season, which he signed on July 1, 2023. Jarry is 8-8-4 with a 3.31 goals-against average and .886 save percentage in 22 games (21 starters) this season.

“As far as how it reflects on me, I think this is the job; you have to make decisions,” Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said Wednesday. “The task is to make as few mistakes as possible and recognize that all of this is out there in the open for everyone to judge, I understand and agree with that.

“You won’t get any defense from me on that. It was my decision (to sign Jarry) within the first few weeks of being here. It was a decision then, I would say too, especially with goalkeepers you have to be careful with to write the obituary too quickly. Because we’ve seen a lot of guys in the league that have been able to come back — I think we talked about that a little bit when Tristan went down in the conditioning period. It’s up to him to go down there and use it as a full reset and if he comes through we’ll go from there I think it would be worse for me if it was a mistake and we extended it and kept trying to force it , I do, I try to fix them and come out here and face the music.”

Jarry did not practice Wednesday after allowing three goals on 17 shots Tuesday, a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken. Jarry has allowed at least three goals in four of his last five starts for the Penguins (18-20-8), who have lost three straight and seven of their last eight games (1-4-3).

“It’s tough,” Jarry said after also allowing three goals on 17 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. “A loss is a loss at the end of the day, but I thought the team played well. They did a good job. … I think we just have to go back to the things that have worked for us. “

The projected primary starter in training camp, Jarry began the season 1-1-0 with a 5.47 GAA and .836 save percentage in three starts before being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan on Oct. 26. He was 4-1-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .926 save percentage in the AHL before being recalled on Nov. 9.

Jarry lost his first three games back (0-2-1), first allowing five goals on 38 shots in a 6-2 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 15th. He won four in a row from Nov. 27-Dec. . 7, making 117 saves on 128 shots (.914), but is 3-5-3 since.

“It’s tough,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “When you lose, that’s obviously something that can happen. I think a goalkeeper already has a lot of pressure and I think it’s difficult for us because we feel that as a teams are responsible if sometimes we don’t give our goalies enough help. Yeah, I think that’s the hard part.”

Dubas said Jarry has “zero” health issues and will be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he clears waivers.

Last season, Jarry had an NHL career-high six shutouts, tied for the league with Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers), Connor Ingram (Arizona Coyotes), Charlie Lindgren (Washington Capitals) and Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets), but was 19th. -25-5 with a 2.91 GAA and .903 save percentage, each their worst in a season with at least three games played.

“The mood is what you would expect it to be; this is the hard part of the business,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “The reality is that performance matters. This is the reality of the business. That being said, it’s also a team sport and it doesn’t fall on any one, two or three guys. It’s a collective effort, including the coaching staff, because where we are onward mood is what you would expect it to be.”

Alex Nedeljkovic, who has shared the starting role, is 7-7-4 with a 3.40 GAA and .886 save percentage since starting the season with a lower-body injury. He made his season debut on October 20, giving up five goals on 36 shots in a 6–3 loss at the Winnipeg Jets. Nedeljkovic was placed on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings in January 2023 after going 2-4-2 with a 4.09 GAA and .880 save percentage. He played 26 games in the AHL that season.

“I don’t want to talk about myself, but it’s almost an identical situation to what I went through in Detroit,” Nedeljkovic said. “The timing is eerily similar in what had happened. It’s frustrating. It’s hard to accept at the moment and it was tough. But like I said, the only thing you can do is control what you can control – that going to the field every day, work hard, try to make yourself better, try to make the guys around you better. He’s been a guy who’s been in this league a long time, I think a two-time All-Star, so it’s not like he doesn’t know what he does.

“It’s not like he’s forgotten how to play. He’s just going through a rough patch right now and it’s unfortunate. But we’re going to do everything we can as teammates to help him get through it here, and also as people. Just as a person to try to help him get through it and get better, so it’s hard.”

The injury to Nedeljkovic and Jarry’s stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this season led to Joel Blomqvist, a 23-year-old prospect, making his NHL debut. He was 3-5-0 with a 3.60 GAA and .904 save percentage in eight games (seven starts), but has spent most of the season in the AHL since his last start with Pittsburgh on Nov. 11.

Blomqvist was recalled from the AHL to be part of a tandem with Nedeljkovic.

“At this point, you just feel like it’s best in the long run for the team and for Tristan to allow Joel to come up here,” Dubas said. “We think over the last year and a half, with his play in Wilkes-Barre and being up here with us, he’s earned the right to try it and we’ll get a chance to see, what he can do in a longer glance.”

Jarry became goalkeeper no. 1 after Matt Murray was traded to the Ottawa Senators on October 7, 2020. Murray won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Drafted in the second round by Pittsburgh (No. 44) at the 2013 NHL Draft, Jarry is 144-93-29 with a 2.75 GAA and .910 save percentage in 279 regular season games (267 starts) and 2-6 with a 3.00 GAA and .891 save percentage in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The Penguins have missed the past two postseasons after qualifying for each of the previous 16. They are four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

“No. 1, objectively, he came in and he’d had a great offseason,” Dubas said. “He came into a great spot and it’s a credit to him. I think throughout this stretch he’s kept coming in. here, put in the work and it hasn’t been a question at all , that just didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to on the ice.

“At this level, you get to the point where you have to do what’s right in the long run — for him and for us.”