Jarry could draw interest, but Penguins may be more comfortable with keeping him …
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed goaltender Tristan Jarry to a two-year deal yesterday. Jarry can know focus on battling with Casey DeSmith for the backup position.
“He’ll be fighting for one of the two spots at camp,” Rutherford said of Jarry, a second-round pick in 2013. “But he’s a very capable guy, and there’s even a much bigger upside for him. He’s a pretty young guy related to the position he’s playing.”
The 26-year old DeSmith appears to a career NHL backup, but the 23-year old Jarry has No. 1 potential. Jarry is still one of the Penguins better prospects and could draw interest from other teams.
If No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray got injured, coach Mike Sullivan would likely prefer to have Jarry over DeSmith if they needed someone for a long stretch of games. Jarry does need to become more consistent though.
The Senators can’t lose Karlsson for nothing …
Chris Stevenson of The Athletic: Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson spoke with but didn’t want to talk about some of the things that have gone down the offseason.
Karlsson doesn’t think that his surgically repaired tendons in his left ankle (surgery 13 months ago) will be an issue going forward. He added that he continues to see a specialist and is working on it almost daily.
Karlsson rejected the Senators eight-year contract offer that was believed to be competitive with the $88 million deal that the LA Kings and Drew Doughty agreed on.
Though Karlsson’s deal wasn’t bonused ladened like the one that John Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs – $44 of the $77 million in the first three years.
The Senators can’t lose Karlsson for nothing, and it seems unlikely that they will come up with a better offer, so he’ll be traded before the deadline.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have all had interest in him this offseason. If Karlsson makes it known that he intends to test out the free agent market, it will lessen the Senators return. They could attach conditions increasing the return if the does re-sign with the acquiring team.