Goaltender Tristan Jarry will be waived by the Penguins after a disastrous first half of the season

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — In a bombshell announcement Wednesday, the Penguins announced they will place goaltender Tristan Jarry on waivers.

If he clears waivers — team sources said they would be “very surprised” if an NHL claimed Jarry and his hefty salary — the plan is for the struggling goaltender to be sent to Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton, the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate.

The Penguins plan to recall Joel Blomqvist, who has a 2.93 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in the AHL and seven NHL starts this season, the general manager and president of the Penguins said Wednesday. Penguins hockey operations, Kyle Dubas.

Jarry signed a five-year contract on July 1, 2023, which pays him more than $5 million per year. He has been a disaster for the Penguins this season and already had a stint in Wilkes-Barre earlier this season.

Although Jarry showed slight signs of improvement after being sent to Wilkes-Barre, he was never the goaltender the Penguins needed.

Jarry is a two-time NHL All-Star, but throughout his career his splits in the second half of the season have diminished considerably. His career playoff record as the Penguins goaltender is 2-6, and his mistake in Game 5 of the 2021 playoffs against the Islanders – a turnover that directly led to New York’s game-winning goal in extension – will always be remembered as the moment his career with the Penguins began. decline.

Jarry’s numbers are particularly awful this season: he has a 3.31 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage.

(*-All-Star season; Data: Hockey-Reference.com)

The Penguins have become frustrated with Jarry’s play this season, which reached a boiling point during their recent 1-3-1 home game when Jarry went 0-2-1 and was on the ice during two collapses in the third period. The Penguins dominated their last two games against Tampa Bay and Seattle, but lost, largely because Jarry allowed three goals on 17 shots in each of those games.

Jarry, 29, has three years remaining on his contract after this season. An NHL team has 24 hours to claim him. If that happens, it would be Christmas in January for the Penguins, who would be relieved to have to pay him for the next three and a half seasons. However, the chances of this happening are minimal at best.

The Penguins will get a little over $1 million in relief if Jarry clears waivers and goes to Wilkes-Barre.

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(Photo: Grégory Shamus / Getty Images)