Penguins/NHL
Can Tristan Jarry keep looking like prime Dominik Hasek the rest of the way? If it actually happened, as unlikely it may be, it would kill the Penguins draft position for the fan bases Top-5 Pick hopes, but Jarry’s last two games have surely been a rallying point inside the room.
There are core players who felt Jarry was scapegoated by management in January. They are loving this as is the head coach who had been a staunch backer of Jarry for years.
Jarry was lights out in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 Overtime win, putting together a 36-save performance on a night the Penguins should have got blown out. Jarry stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third.
“I think he’s playing up to his capabilities,” Mike Sullivan said of Jarry. “Obviously, he was the difference in the game tonight. I thought he was the difference in the game against Minnesota also. He has that ability.”
What’s been a major difference with Jarry is his positioning. Not sure I’ve ever seen it better from him. Saves in traffic that might look lucky the last two games after happening because he’s not playing small and is taking excellent angles and squaring up on shooters. There was one instance with around 11 minutes left in the third and a long shot from the point with traffic where his sightlines were completely covered and puck hits right into his glove. Before he would have been down and left a bullseye open upstairs. Where this goes and what it means long-term if he would actually finish the rest of the way on a heater remains to be seen but it’s been a nice story thus far.
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NHL Buzz: Former Penguins first round pick Brayden Yager was quite popular with NHL clubs in trade talks as the Winnipeg Jets looked at some big swings. A good sign that teams see a nice ceiling on Yager. There is a strong belief the Jets would have been willing to put Yager in play for Penguins To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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— More Deadline Fallout on Rakell: One NHL executive tells me due to the respect and admiration Pittsburgh has for Rakell, teams that looked into Rakell believed Pittsburgh was only willing to move Rakell to one of the two teams in southern To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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— Pittsburgh is not a destination city but when players get here, they often love it here, especially players with families. Jake Guentzel would have stayed if Pittsburgh had actually offered him $8-$9 Million in 2023 summer; Marcus Pettersson badly wanted to stay long-term, and Rakell has become another one who doesn’t want to leave. Riley Smith hating it here was the exception……….
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Far from the biggest Mitch Marner fan here, especially when talking a $14 million a year price tag, but options are limited to accelerate this. Buzz around the league is Marner has so much respect for Sidney Crosby that if Pittsburgh decided to go all-in on Marner and try to get a seat at the table for a sales pitch, there is confidence To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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Trading Vincent Desharnais to San Jose was tied to the Penguins acquiring Luke Schenn. The organization, though, is not losing sleep over parting with Desharnais. They quickly saw he wasn’t going to be an ideal fit for how Mike Sullivan wants to play. As for Schenn, Pittsburgh didn’t read the situation too well and tried to get Sidney Crosby To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
