It appears the Pittsburgh Penguins are moving on from the goaltender they thought would be their future. On Wednesday, the team announced that goaltender Tristan Jarry was placed on waivers. If he clears, he’ll report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL. The if is likely a win, because there isn’t a team in the NHL desperate enough to take Jarry and the next three-plus years of his $5.375 cap hit. It doesn’t help that he’s posted a .886 SV% and -8.83 GSAx this season.
Pittsburgh will save $1.15 million by burying him in the AHL, but a portion of that will be consumed when they recall Joel Blomqvist to partner with Alex Nedeljkovic as they embark on a two-week road trip. Blomqvist is their top goaltending prospect and has a solid, if unspectacular season the Baby Penguins this year.
So, how are the Lightning involved? Well, it appears the Penguins were on the fence about keeping him until this weekend. Then he allowed 3 goals on 17 shots while posting a -1.09 GSAx. In his next start, he posted almost identical numbers in a 4-2 loss to the Kraken. That was apparently the final straw, and the Penguins brass made their decision.
At this point, the Penguins are willing to eat the bulk of contract for now, much like the Edmonton Oilers did with Jack Campbell. Depending on how he plays in the AHL, another team might be willing to take a risk on him, especially if Pittsburgh retains some of his salary.
The Lightning
Jack Finley had a busy day on Tuesday [Raw Charge]
The big fella had a whirlwind 24 hours that started on the practice ice in Syracuse and ended on the NHL ice in Boston.
Crunch pick up points in 3-2 shootout loss to Providence [Syracuse Crunch]
Gage Goncalves and Jack Finley were back in the line-up for the Crunch, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Providence Bruins. Goals from Logan Brown and Jujhar Khaira gave the Crunch a lead late into the third period, but Tyler Pitlick tied it with less than four minutes to go and Riley Tufte scored the difference maker in the shootout to earn Providence the extra point. Brandon Halverson stopped 28 of 30 in the loss.
Rick Peckham joins the Block Partyb [Tampa Bay Lightning]
The Hall of Fame broadcaster joins the boys on this week’s Block Party to chat about his time behind the microphone.
Which non-Hall of Famer played the most games for your team [The Athletic]
This was an easy answer. Mr. Vincent Lecavalier. Despite his 400 goals and 900 career points, he hasn’t received the call from the hall just yet (and probably won’t). He’s still number one in our hearts, though.
The Game
TRRRRRRRAAAAAAADDDDDEEE [Illegal Curve Hockey]
Okay, so it wasn’t a huge deal, but it’s still a trade. Chicago sent Isaak Phillips, a defenseman selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, to Winnipeg in exchange for 2021 third-rounder Dmitry Kuzmin. The scuttlebutt is that Kuzmin is good friends with one of Chicago’s top prospects, Artyom Levshunov.
Five Destinations for Brock Nelson [Daily Faceoff]
No, the Lightning aren’t one of the spots mentioned for DFO’s top spot on their trade board. It’s going to be the Leafs isn’t it? It seems like a very Toronto pick-up.
Tiering 12 NHL Teams playoff odds [ESPN]
The fine folks at The World Wide Leader take a look at the teams on the playoff bubble to see what their chances are to make the postseason. Guess it’s a good sign that the Lightning aren’t one of the 12 teams.
The Biggest Story Lines of the Second Half of the NHL Season [The Ringer]
It’s Ovechkin’s chase for Greatness. Look, normally we believe in the team story lines over individual glory, but this is one of the sport’s biggest records. Watching him creep closer on a seemingly nightly basis reminds us of the Sammy Sosa/Mark McGwire race to beat Roger Maris. Based on his offseason photos, there aren’t too many PEDs involved in this chase.
