We never thought wed miss the playoffs Tristan Jarry

“We never thought we’d miss the playoffs” – Tristan Jarry

In the 2023-2024 period, the Pittsburgh Penguins need to be forgiven for several things. Goalkeeper Tristan Jarry, like his team, has had a rollercoaster season and will want to do better.

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For the first time since 2006-2007, the “Pens” missed the playoffs, causing minor shock waves in the National Hockey League and a major comeback for the Pennsylvania organization.

During the offseason, they preferred to clean up their staff and cut ties with general manager Ron Hextall, among other things, rather than touch their core on the ice.

That’s how Jarry gained his family’s trust with a new five-year contract worth a total of $26.875 million. The 28-year-old British-Colombian received more offers on July 1 but had only one goal in mind.

“I’ve wanted to stay in Pittsburgh for a long time,” assured the porter. my house is there Being able to make that happen has taken a lot of the pressure off my shoulders. I wanted to focus on my game and not have to wonder where I was going.

Already back?

Now that the Penguins are on their longest active streak in playoff appearances, they need to look to the future. We say the window is always open for a new Stanley Cup from Sidney Crosby and his band.

“I think we’re going to be a more competitive team,” Jarry said. We have a better group than last year. We never thought last year that we would miss the playoffs. It was frustrating, very disappointing. Things will change this year.”

In recent weeks the team have signed veteran strikers like Rielly Smith, Lars Eller and Matt Nieto, offered a new deal to the very reliable defender Ryan Graves and added a new man at net: Alex Nedeljkovic.

ups and downs

The latter would also be battling for game time with Penguins No. 2 Casey DeSmith. Jarry doesn’t take anything for granted, especially since he’s often the subject of criticism for his particularly high aspirations versus the average. Last year it was 2.90, while the efficiency rate was 0.909.

Injuries also played a role but he says he’s in top form now.

“I haven’t always performed at my best,” he admitted. There are times when I’ve played well and other times I haven’t. That frustrated me the most. I couldn’t agree with what was going on.

Consistency should actually be the key for the penguins. However, betting against them could be a big mistake.