Penguins

Penguins Tristan Jarry Wants a Stanley Cup Not a Contract

Published

4 years ago

April 28, 2020

In his team suggested maturation, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry has become a little bit shy around the media. He defaults to basic answers to avoid giving the wrong impression. The jovial goalie can turn aside reporters questions like the 92.1% of shots he’s kicked aside this season.

And he probably makes the saves with the same smile.

Jarry, 24, spoke with selected reporters on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Penguins weekly video chat series during the coronavirus season-pause.

Like his positional competition and teammate, Matt Murray, Jarry will be a restricted free agent of the 2019-20 season concludes. Whenever that might be. Jarry wrestled the starting position away from Murray for most of November and December before giving way to a timeshare of the Penguins net in January. Murray began to reclaim the starting position in February and PHN was able to report the details of the Penguins future plans.

Of course, that was before the chaos of a potentially elongated, or shortened offseason, too.

Tuesday, Jarry quickly dismissed any talk of a new contract.

“No, the biggest thing for me is to stay ready so I am able to do what I can when the season resumes,” Jarry began. “We’re still fighting for a Stanley Cup. That’s our biggest mindset. And moving forward, that’s the mindset of me and everyone on our team. We want to win a Stanley Cup.”

Jarry is quarantining in Canada because of the amenities he has available at home, including a full gym, though he isn’t necessarily just tossing tennis balls off the wall.

“(Just) working on our hand-eye, making sure our hips and core are staying engaged, staying prepared for when we resume,” Jarry said from beneath his new mustache.

“Web X has been a big tool for us, being able to work with (goalie coach Mike Buckley). We’ve been able to work on parts of our game that we might not have during the season. We’ve been able to see things we’ve needed to improve on and I think that will help us to come back stronger.”

Jarry and Murray have engaged in an interesting goalie battle this season. In fact, there were legitimate questions if the Penguins decision to keep Jarry as the NHL backup goalie and send Casey DeSmith was entirely unanimous. Sullivan quickly heaped praise upon DeSmith in early October when asked about the decision, and cited money as a factor.

Tristan Jarry didn’t get much playing time in the first two months. He started only the second of back-to-back games. At the beginning of the season, few expected the situation with Murray to be a battle. And, it wasn’t until Murray stumbled.

But Jarry grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Thus far, everything PHN has been told indicates the goalies’ relationship has been more than amicable. The freezing stares or territorial posturing which have harmed more than a few teams across all sports is not an issue with the Penguins duo.

“Being able to push each other and friends off the ice helps when you’re battling for a spot and competing every night,” Jarry said. “He’s always helping me and picking ideas from my game that help. It improves both our games as a whole.”

Former NHL player John Scott, who was the surprise 2016 NHL All-Star participant and then MVP, tweeted last weekend he was told training camps would begin on June 1. NHL return to play scenarios almost exclusively include empty arenas, which means no fans.

“It’ll be different. Usually, you have the home ice and away ice, playing in a mutual building would be different as well,” Jarry said.

Another question turned aside, though Tristan Jarry did admit to getting another puppy with his girlfriend a few months ago. The puppy is an English Mastiff.