CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Tristan Jarry arrived at training camp with a fresh pair of white pads and a mask with monster trucks painted on it.
Neither was his idea. The Pittsburgh Penguins goalie let the painter, whose son likes monster trucks, put whatever he wanted on the mask. The change in pads is a directive from upper management, requiring each goalie to wear white. Jarry didn’t even choose the pattern.
“I let them pick it,” Jarry said Friday, the second day of camp. “It’s easier.”
Jarry has sought similar simplicity in his game. With a new contract and healthy, the 28-year-old said he might finally find it.
“It's a relief,” Jarry said. “It's obviously hard playing when you have that burden on your shoulders with a lot of unknowns. To just have that done and over with is nice. You can just focus on playing.”
Jarry signed a five-year, $26.875 million contract ($5.375 average annual value) on July 1 as an unrestricted free agent. He was 24-13-7 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .909 save percentage last season, missing 16 of 18 games with a lower-body injury from Jan. 5-Feb. 18.
After returning Feb. 20, Jarry allowed 58 goals with an .890 save percentage in his final 20 games and was pulled from three of six starts from March 7-18. The Penguins (40-31-11) went on to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2005-06, finishing one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.
That didn’t result in any change to Jarry’s offseason training, he said.
“I think we’re hungrier,” Jarry said. “Obviously, last year didn’t turn out the way we wanted. It was a shame. I wasn’t healthy. That was a big thing for me, getting healthy and getting back to where I want to be, at the level I want to play at.”
Jarry is noticeably relieved, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said.
“You get a contract, you get healthy. I think that's a big confidence boost,” Crosby said. “Obviously, you can just focus on playing. It's not easy when you're going through all those things at the same time. So I think, mentally, to have a clean slate like that, especially as a goalie, it's a lot of pressure.
“The more you can just clear your mind and focus on playing, the better. He was going through a lot with the injury and contract talks, and all that stuff. I think it's good for him to have that done with and just focus on playing."
When healthy, Jarry has been one of the better goalies Pittsburgh has had. He is 117-60-20 in 206 NHL games (198 starts), all with the Penguins, and he’s tied with Matt Murray for the third-most wins in Pittsburgh history, behind Marc-Andre Fleury (375) and Tom Barrasso (226).
Jarry’s 2.65 GAA with the Penguins puts him ahead of Murray (2.67) and Barrasso (3.27) for second in team history, just behind Fleury (2.58). His .914 save percentage matches Murray’s for the best among Pittsburgh goalies, ahead of Fleury (.912) and Barrasso (.895).
But Fleury (2009, 2016, 2017), Murray (2016, 2017) and Barrasso (1991, 1992) each won the Stanley Cup multiple times with the Penguins. Jarry has never won a playoff series.
Jarry is 2-6 with a 3.00 GAA and .891 save percentage in eight postseason starts. It’s on the Penguins to have him ready to perform well late in the regular season and into the playoffs, coach Mike Sullivan said.
“When you look at Tristan's body of work here, when Tristan's been healthy, he's played some pretty solid hockey for us for long stretches of time,” Sullivan said. “Our challenge is going to be to put him in position to be successful, try to manage workloads there so we can set him up for success. We believe he's a very capable guy.
“I think he's matured in a lot of ways, both on the ice and off the ice, that can serve him well with this challenge that he has in front of him.”
To Jarry, the lone challenge is to win a championship.
“It’s more about team success than anything,” Jarry said. “I don’t think personal success really does much for you. I think more team success, at the end of the year, you’re all pulling for the same thing. It’s not so much about points or saves, or whatever you want to go for.
“At the end of the year, our goal is all the same. We all want to win the Stanley Cup.”
