Pens Waived Tristan Jarry; Is There a Match in Philly?

The Pittsburgh Penguins waived goalie Tristan Jarry Wednesday, with the intention of assigning him to the AHL if he is not claimed by 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Jarry has had quite a solid career, with a career .910 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average. He boasts a 144-93-29 career record with 19 shutouts. Jarry is also the second-fastest to reach 100 wins with Pittsburgh.

He has quite the resume from his time with the Penguins and is even on a ~moderate~ contract, holding an AAV of $5,375,000 yearly. He is in the middle of year two of five carrying that cap hit, which is not an atrocious cost with the current goalie market.

With all that good, Jarry has not seen much of his past self this season. In just 22 games, Jarry has a save percentage of .886, a 3.31 goals-against average, and a record of 8-8-4.

The Penguins are not in the place they want to be, being 18-20-8, 5th in the Metropolitan.

With Jarry on waivers, it makes me wonder…

Is there a Fit for Jarry in Philadelphia?

The Philadelphia Flyers have until 2 p.m. Thursday to make a claim on Jarry, so they will have to act fast if they are even considering Jarry.

Right away, my gut tells me there is a slim chance. The Flyers despite the early season struggles, have found some stability in net. The recent efforts of Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov have seemingly built some positive momentum for the Flyers’ goaltending group, as Aleksei Kolosov seems to be falling out of the mix.

When comparing careers, the 29-year-old Jarry boasts significantly better numbers—over a much more extended period of time. But this season, Jarry will find himself right in the middle of the pack with the Flyers goaltenders.

Jarry, Compared to the Flyers Goalies

2024/25 SV%

1. Sam Ersson, .887%
2. Tristan Jarry, .886%
3. Ivan Fedotov, .879%
4. Aleksi Kolosov, .870%

2024/25 GAA

1. Sam Ersson, 2.87 GAA
2. Ivan Fedotov, 3.26 GAA
3. Tristan Jarry, 3.31 GAA
4. Aleksi Kolosov, 3.45 GAA

Career SV%

1. Tristan Jarry, .910%
2. Sam Ersson, .891%
3. Aleksei Kolosov, .870%
4. Ivan Fedotov, .869%

Career GAA

1. Tristan Jarry, 2.75 GAA
2. Sam Ersson, 2.87 GAA
3. Aleksei Kolosov, 3.45 GAA
4. Ivan Fedotov, 3.50 GAA

As previously mentioned, Jarry would clear all Flyers goalies in career numbers, even while playing more games (279) than three times the amount of games than the Flyers leading games played goalie (Ersson, 85 GP).

Both Ersson and Fedotov have truly made strides since the holiday break, giving the Flyers reason to be confident in their tandem moving forward.

That said, Jarry’s three remaining seasons at an AAV higher than $5.3 million make it not worth it for the Flyers to throw in a claim.

A team that claims Jarry would be a team still in the hunt and can afford to take a risk on a player that could benefit from a change in scenery. The Flyers do not fit that description.

While the Flyers can afford to take a risk on a “change of scenery” player, one with three years remaining on the contract may not be such a good idea, especially if this has become Jarry’s new normal.

It would be naive to think that Jarry and Ersson would not be a better One-Two (no particular order) than Ersson and Fedotv, especially next season. However, I do not think this sort of move would align with the Flyers’ current vision.

With the Flyers still dealing with the retained/buyout salaries of Kevin Hayes, Cam Atkinson, and Tony DeAngelo, along with Cal Peterson’s buried contract, I do not think the Flyers should or would be willing to take a significant risk and place a claim on Jarry (and his contract).