Jarry ready for 'fun challenge' following trade to Oilers

TORONTO -- Tristan Jarry will make his Edmonton Oilers debut Saturday in front of a national television audience on "Hockey Night in Canada" against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP).

The 30-year-old goalie was acquired along with forward Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday for goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft.

Jarry is embracing the opportunity to return to Edmonton. He helped the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League win the Memorial Cup in 2014 and subsequently purchased a house about 15 minutes outside of Edmonton, where he, his wife and his baby boy spend the summer.

"I had no clue what was really happening," Jarry said Saturday morning of what went through his mind Friday when Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas called him at home with the news. "But obviously when I heard, I was really excited.

"My time with the Oil Kings, I enjoyed it so much. I had a lot of friends there, and kind of grew up there a little bit. So when I had an opportunity to buy a home there, that is where I decided to set roots."

Jarry is 9-3-1 with a 2.66 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 14 games (13 starts) this season. In 307 regular-season games (294 starts), he has a 161-100-32 record with a 2.74 GAA and .909 save percentage.

"Tristan is an established goaltender, he's been in the League for a long time. Been very solid," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I know last year was a little bit of a down, but looking at his track record over the years, he's shown that he's been very solid, so we feel that we're getting better in that area."

Surrounded by a scrum of about 20 reporters during his first media availability since the trade, Jarry admitted his career was at a crossroads last season, one in which he posted a lofty 3.12 GAA and .893 save percentage. At one point, when the Penguins sent him down to the minors to hopefully rediscover his game, he wondered if his NHL days might be done.

In the end, he opted to fight and get back to the level he'd enjoyed in previous seasons, which is exactly what he's done in 2025-26.

"Just learning from the mistakes I had last year," Jarry said when asked what the key has been to his impressive start. "Whether it was at the beginning of the year not playing well, to kind of find my game at the end. Obviously there was bumps along the way, going down on a conditioning stint, going down on waivers. And I think there was a choice to be made there, whether I wanted to pack it in and call it or if I wanted to learn from that experience."

He chose the latter.

"Obviously learning from that experience has made me a stronger person and a better goalie," he said. "And I think just having those experiences will be better for me down the road."

In the process, he understands what is expected of him with an Oilers team that has reached the Stanley Cup Final the past two years, and will settle for nothing less than winning the Stanley Cup.

"It's cool," Jarry said. "It's an opportunity and I'm fully embracing it. I think it's going to be a fun challenge. I think being able to have a chance to reach the pinnacle of sports, you always want that opportunity, to be on this team, to be able to do that.

"It's going to be special."

The Oilers warmly welcomed Jarry, who has skated a number of times with Edmonton captain Connor McDavid in the summer. At the same time, they admittedly were emotional to see Skinner and Kulak, two of the more popular players in the dressing room, be traded away.

Skinner is 11-8-4 with a 2.83 GAA, .891 save percentage and two shutouts in 23 games this season. The 27-year-old is 109-62-18 with a 2.74 GAA, .904 save percentage and nine shutouts in 197 regular-season games (191 starts) and 26-22 with a 2.88 GAA, .893 save percentage and four shutouts in 50 playoff games.

During that time, he helped Edmonton to back-to-back appearances in the Final, where the Oilers lost to the eventual champion Florida Panthers each time.

McDavid was asked how Skinner should be remembered for his time in Edmonton.

"For leading the way to two Cup Finals, two exciting runs that he backstopped," McDavid said. "And he was a good person while he was here. He always treated people well. That's important."

In a "cool" twist of the NHL schedule, to use Jarry's own word, the Oilers will be in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Tuesday, in another nationally televised game.

"There's obviously going to be a lot of emotions," Jarry said. "It's still very fresh. It'll be weird to put on a different jersey in that rink.

"It's special being able to play with [Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang] all those years. They're all Hall of Famers, and it'll be cool to say I was able to play a long time in my career with them. They're all great friends, and I consider them family now.

"Those are very tough goodbyes."