PITTSBURGH — Tristan Jarry was quite forthright when it came to discussing the tribulations of last season caused by injuries that he said “limited” him.
Meeting with reporters for the first time since inking a five-year deal carrying an average annual value of $5.375 million, the Penguins’ netminder delivered a clean bill of health, saying he’s “currently 100 percent.”
But last season, a campaign in which he only started 47 games between the pipes for the Penguins due to both upper- and lower-body injuries, was hardly an easy one for Jarry, even from the start.
“The injuries that I had were something that I don't think I could have avoided,” Jarry said. “I was dealing with it for, I want to say, since the beginning of training camp, and just being able to not get ahead of it and not really get over it was the toughest thing for me.”
The timing of Jarry’s injuries couldn’t have been much worse for him, too, considering the 28-year-old two-time All-Star was entering a contract year. Jarry shot down any discussion of said injuries being ones that could linger with him throughout the remainder of his NHL career, though, which the Penguins appear to be in agreement with given their financial commitment.
“I don't think it's chronic in any way,” Jarry said. “They never said it was chronic. So I don't know where that would have come from. But it's behind me and it's something that I'll never have to deal with again, and it's just looking forward from here.”
Of course, since the Penguins selected him No. 44 overall in the 2013 NHL entry draft, Jarry’s freshly inked contract all but confirms he’ll stick with the only professional club he’s ever played with for the foreseeable future. Jarry said even when he entered free agency without having agreed to a new deal with the Penguins, staying in Pittsburgh was what he wanted all along.
He confirmed other teams reached out to him for his services but the Penguins were the sole team in serious contention.
“Pittsburgh was the only team I was really talking to and the only team where I really wanted to be,” Jarry said. “We've set up home in Pittsburgh. We have a beautiful house. We’re in a good neighborhood, and I can't imagine being anywhere else, really. So it was really only about Pittsburgh.”
It didn’t hurt either that president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas paid a visit to Jarry in Edmonton to meet with him and his family. Jarry said it was good to hear directly from Dubas what the plan for the team was and how he would factor into the equation.
“It made me feel very confident in the way that the team was going in,” Jarry said of Dubas’ visit. “I was very excited that he took the time to come see me and my wife. It showed a lot that he was there and it really helped us [with] making that decision.”
Now, Jarry has the support of the Penguins behind him, both in terms of finances and term. The contract, which will pay Jarry nearly $27 million in total through the 2027-28 campaign, has taken a lot of weight off his shoulders.
He said playing last season with the uncertainty of his contract situation, in conjunction with former general manager Ron Hextall being fired in April, made for a tough early start to the summer for Jarry.
“There [were] a lot of unknowns,” Jarry said. “It’s always hard on a player when you don't know what the next year could look like or where you could be. ... So that's why I wanted to sign a longer contract, was just knowing where I was going to be and not having anything to focus on other than my play.”
Now, Jarry can do precisely that but with a bit more competition behind him than last year. Gone is former third goalie Dustin Tokarski. On the scene with a one-year deal is Alex Nedeljkovic, as well as Casey DeSmith, who started a career-high 33 games last season for the Penguins.
Even so, a seemingly healthy Jarry who’s focused on his offseason regimen is simply glad to be on the verge of operating at full capacity come this fall.
“It's put me in a good position to be fit and ready for camp,” Jarry said. “I think that's my main focus this summer: just being able to be in the best shape that I can and come in and show that there's nothing bothering me.”
