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Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry put the emotions of a Friday trade on pause long enough to make an effective Saturday debut with the Edmonton Oilers. The veteran goalie used his Pittsburgh Penguins helmet and stick in a 6-3 win that saw him make 25 saves.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Tristan Jarry was at home Friday morning in Pittsburgh with his wife Hannah and little boy Bennett when the Penguins called and asked him to come immediately to their arena.
When he got there, Jarry, a goalie with the team for 10 seasons, was informed he had just been traded to the Edmonton Oilers.
“From there, it was a kind of a whirlwind,” Jarry said Saturday before his first start with his new club. “I played in Pittsburgh for a long time and I am very grateful for my time there. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Jarry said he had no idea that he was on the trading block. He travelled from Pittsburgh to Toronto to join his new teammates and one night later made 25 saves in 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs.
“There are a lot of emotions,” Jarry said afterward. “You never really think this would happen and are shocked when it does. But to be here with this group is special.”
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Edmonton reached the conference final three seasons ago and lost to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final in each of the next two years.
While the team has excelled, its biggest perceived weakness was in goal where Stuart Skinner was unpredictable. Jarry was swapped for him and defenceman Brett Kulak in a deal that looks like an upgrade if maybe a marginal one.
Jarry, 30, had a 161-100-32 record and .909 save percentage for Pittsburgh. Skinner, 27, had career numbers of 109-62-18 with a .904 save mark. The latter, however, has extensive postseason experience.
The Oilers had their customary slow start to the season but seem to have turned the corner. They are 6-2-2 in their last 10 contests and had won four of their last five as they headed into a Sunday night clash with the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
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Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry adjusts his mask during a break in his debut game with his new team on Saturday night in Toronto.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Over the last five games, Connor McDavid has seven goals and eight assists, and on Saturday carved up Toronto like a Benihana chef.
In the first period he sped between Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and slid a puck past the lunging Dennis Hildeby. After Toronto took a 2-1 lead McDavid tied it up by banking a shot off former teammate Troy Stecher, now a Maple Leaf defenceman.
He also added an assist on what turned out to be Darnell Nurse’s winning goal, also in the second. After that the rout was on.
“He’s probably the best player in the world,” Ekman-Larsson said. “We knew that coming in. We just couldn’t shut him down.”
Entering the game the opponents had nearly identical records. It sure did not seem like that afterwards. Toronto, which faces Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Tuesday, is currently out of the playoff picture.
With a game left to play on Sunday, Edmonton sat in the first wildcard slot in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference. At this point the West would seem to be stronger than the East.
“Our leaders have to take control a lot more than they are now,” Craig Berube, the Maple Leafs’ coach, said. If he sounds like a broken record, it is with good reason. “It’s all a mindset. You have to have more urgency.”
Said Toronto forward Scott Laughton, “It’s hard to understand. We need to be better in every area of the game. It’s just not good enough.”
With McDavid doing McDavid things, Leon Draisaitl (three assists) doing Draisaitl things, and goaltending that’s a tad better, Edmonton would seem to be in a good place.
“It’s not easy for Tristan to come in and join the group and have to play a big game the next day,” Nurse said. “He was seamless. It speaks to the character of what the guy is.”
Jarry is 9-3-1 overall this season and 1-0 in the Oilers’ net.
“When I heard I was traded to the Oilers it was very exciting,” Jarry said. “This is a good opportunity here and I am fully embracing it.”
