PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It wasn’t personal, just something that had to be done. The Pens reacted to Tristan Jarry being placed on waivers after starting the season as their number one goalie.
Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said it’s the hard part of the business, but the reality is performance matters.
Jarry is currently 70th in the NHL in goals against average and 66th in save percentage. A dozen times this year Jarry had a game with a save percentage below .900 and in the last two games, six saves on 34 shots.
“I know Tristan has it,” Sullivan said. “I know to my core that he is an NHL goaltender. He’s going through a bit of a challenge here over this last little while. We are doing everything we can to help him, but this is the reality of the business. We are trying to put guys on the ice to give the group the best chance to win.”
Those other players on the ice are feeling the burden of letting down their 29-year-old goaltender.
“It’s always hard because it’s a team game,” said defenseman Kris Letang. “It’s not all about one guy, it’s 22-man roster and we could have done a lot better in front of him. He’s not alone in this. It kinda sucks because he’s been around for a long time and he’s played tremendous hockey for this organization.”
“It’s not an easy situation, anytime something like that happens, the entire team kind of feels like we let him down as well,” said forward Bryan Rust. “I know for myself and a lot of guys in here, it’s going to weight on us a bit.”
“It’s tough,” said captain Sidney Crosby. “Obviously when you lose, it’s the type of stuff that can happen. I think it’s difficult for us because we feel as a team we don’t give our goalies enough help at times.”
Most likely, as any team that would select Jarry off waivers would have to pay the rest of his 5-year, $27 million contract that has three more seasons on it, that he will clear and then the plan is to send him to the Pens AHL team.
“It’s best in the long run and for the team and for Tristan to allow Joel (Blomqvist) to come up here,” said Pens GM Kyle Dubas. “We think over the past year and a half with his play in Wilkes/Barre and when he’s been up here with us. He’s earned the right to have a go at it and we get a chance at a prolonged look.”
“We are hopeful these guys (Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic) are going to give you timely saves that will help you win,” Sullivan said. “Joel has played extremely well during the course of the season. He’s had some good games up here in Pittsburgh. He’s played well at the American League level and he’s going to get an opportunity to try and help this team win.”
The 23-year-old Blomqvist has a .912 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average in the minors. In his time with the Pens this season, the second-round pick had a 3-5 record, 3.60 goals against average and .904 save percentage in eight games.
“I’m a huge supporter of his,” Nedeljkovic said. “I believe in him. I think he’s a great goalie. He’s been a great teammate and a great friend. Hope he bounces back from it and we have him back here soon.”
“Tristan worked hard to build his game, for whatever reason there was some inconsistency,” Sullivan said. “The reality is Tristan is a legitimate NHL goaltender and he’s played some good hockey here in Pittsburgh. I don’t think you make the all-star team twice if you don’t have a certain level of talent.”
One of his first official acts as the new Pens general manager was to sign Jarry to the five-year deal. Dubas said it would speak worse of him if he just tried to prolong Jarry’s time with the Pens just to prove he’s right. He felt like they gave Jarry enough time and he’s trying to rectify the error. That being said, he added.
“With goaltenders, you have to careful about writing the obituary too quickly,” Dubas said. “We’ve seen a lot of guys in the league that have been able to come back.”
Dubas hopes Jarry uses this time as a reset. For the rest of the team, Crosby summed up what they need to do, no matter who is in net.
“It’s up to us to be better in front of them.”