Has Tristan Jarry turned his career around in Edmonton?

The Edmonton Oilers have been one of the hottest teams early on in the season. A major reason for that has been the unreal play of Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard, but an unlikely hero has also emerged. Goaltender Tristan Jarry has been amazing recently, starting to earn the trust of Oilers fans. His first season as an Oiler was mediocre at best, and his first start this year was a complete disaster. However, in Jarry’s last four starts, he has been very consistent. This is hands down the best he has looked in recent years. Hopefully, he has finally turned his career back around.

A rough start in Edmonton

The Oilers acquired Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2025. The trade itself surprised some, but the timing certainly surprised everyone. Jarry joined the Oilers organization along with Samuel Poulin, while Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick went to Pittsburgh. This trade made absolute sense for both sides because both goalies desperately needed a change of scenery.

Through the remainder of the 2025–26 season, Jarry posted some very average numbers as an Oiler. In 19 games, he had a 9–6–2 record with a 3.86 GAA and an .858 SV%. Calling these numbers average is honestly a bit generous. The trade looked to be a bad one on the Oilers front, as Jarry remained signed for another two years after the deal was made. The playoffs rolled around, and unfortunately, Jarry had lost the starting role to Connor Ingram.

Jarry made one appearance in the Oilers’ playoff run. With the hopes of turning the series around, Edmonton pointed to Jarry for the start in Game 4. The Oilers were down the series 2–1 and needed a win. Jarry himself did not play that poorly, but the Oilers could not hold off the comeback of the Ducks. Anaheim won the game 4–3 in overtime, with Jarry stopping 34 of 38 shots.

After getting eliminated in six games, Jarry and the Oilers really needed a bounce back in 2026–27.

An awful season debut

Jarry got the nod in net for the Oilers’ season and home opener against the Vancouver Canucks. This is arguably the most highly anticipated game of the year, so the pressure to perform is on a different level. The Oilers’ offence does their job, scoring five goals. Unfortunately, Jarry and the defence have an epic collapse.

The first couple of Vancouver goals are not all on Jarry. Paul Cotter scores on a shorthanded two-on-one to give the Canucks an early lead. Early in the second, Marco Rossi scores on a breakaway to give the Canucks the lead once again. Going into the third, the teams are deadlocked at two goals apiece. This is where the collapse happens. Jarry gives up a very weak goal to Jonathan Lekkerimaki early in the third, which leads to three Canucks goals in the span of six minutes. At this point, it all seems lost in this game.

Miraculously, the Oilers make an epic comeback and tie the game in the last minute. It goes into overtime, and if the Oilers win, this will become one of the greatest comebacks in opening night history. Sadly, it is the Canucks who get the last laugh. Cotter shows an unbelievable individual effort, fights off Ryan Shea, before he beats Jarry in all alone. This is the last way that Jarry wants to start the year. Giving up six goals and posting a revolting .739 SV%.

Regaining his confidence

It took a few games, but Jarry has been completely different since opening night against Vancouver. That has easily been his worst game of the season, and maybe he just had some opening-night nerves. In his last four starts, Jarry has been lights out. In back-to-back games against the Calgary Flames and the New York Islanders, Jarry recorded shutouts in both. He made 24 saves against the Flames and 18 against the Islanders for a combined 42-save shutout.

Maybe these were just a couple of lucky games? Honestly, I don’t think so. The following game was another great one for Jarry. He made 31 saves on 34 shots in a shootout loss against the New Jersey Devils. Even though the team lost, a shootout loss is a tough one. It is basically a coin flip. Lastly, he was nearly perfect against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. The only shots that got past him were a Tyson Foerster snipe and a lucky seeing-eye shot from Travis Sanheim.

As the season continues, I say that it is Jarry’s net to lose. He was brought in from the Penguins to be the new starter, and I believe that he has earned that spot. At least, for now. Frederik Andersen is still injured, so it will be really interesting to see how the rotation looks when he comes back. As solid as Devon Levi has been, I think that Jarry should be the main guy moving forward. It seems like he has finally found his game again.

Up Next: Evaluating Zach Hyman’s fit on the current Edmonton Oilers