The Tristan Jarry trade has finally happened. Here is what the Pittsburgh Penguins are getting in return.
During the 2024-25 season, not too far from this point in the season, any team in the NHL could have had Tristan Jarry and his contract for free. Given up no assets. Traded nothing. Just taken him off the waiver wire.
Nobody would bite.
On Friday, the Edmonton Oilers not only took on Tristan Jarry’s contract, they also traded goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029(!) second-round pick for the opportunity to take him, his contract and minor-leaguer Sam Poulin in return.
It has been no secret that the Penguins have been trying to dump Jarry’s contract almost from the minute he signed it two years ago. His inconsistent play made that nearly impossible. To his credit, Jarry came back from being waived and being sent to the AHL like a true pro and has put together an extremely solid opening two months of the 2025-26 season. He has played a big role in the Penguins’ surprising start to the season.
There are some issues with that, however, most notably: We have all seen this before from him. The good half season, followed by the bad half season is pretty much the story that has defined his career in Pittsburgh.
Will he give the Penguins (and now Edmonton) this same level of play all year? That remains to be seen, but history says no.
Because of that it makes sense that the Penguins and general manager Kyle Dubas would look to strike while they can and trade Jarry at what might be his highest possible value.
The return also is not terrible.
Skinner was a big part of the Oilers’ goaltending problems in recent years, but like Jarry, has shown flashes of putting together strong play for an extended period of time. Can anybody confidently sit here today and say they know which goalie will play the best for the remainder of the season? Not sure how you can. How much of a difference will there be?
Skinner is also a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, clearing significant salary cap space into the future for the Penguins. Especially with Sergei Murashov on the horizon for the Penguins net.
Kulak is a serviceable third-pairing defenseman that might not only be an upgrade over some of their current options. He is also a pending unrestricted free agent after this season and could be flipped for another draft pick in March.
The second-round pick just gets added into the stockpile. Yeah, it is years down the road, but by that point who knows what the Oilers look like and where that pick could land.
The most important things, however, are clearing out Jarry’s contract to create cap space when the Penguins might badly need it, and opening the door for Murashov to have a clear path to the starting role. The Penguins are probably in a very similar situation as to what they were in for this season, and in a slightly better position for the long-term.
It is probably as good of a return as the Penguins could have hoped for given the difficult market for goalies in trades, the inconsistency of Jarry, the contract he had and all over the other variables that go into play.
Category: General Sports
