Former NHL goalie questions compete level of Tristan Jarry

When the Edmonton Oilers made the decision to trade for Tristan Jarry, there were plenty of concerns. The biggest of the bunch was whether Jarry was any sort of upgrade over Stuart Skinner, who was one of the pieces to head the other way in the deal. After all, Jarry, despite having some solid seasons earlier in his career, struggled so much in 2024-25 that he was placed on waivers and spent a brief period of time in the American Hockey League (AHL).

There were also plenty of concerns over Jarry’s contract, as he is locked up through the 2027-28 season on a deal that carries a $5.375 million cap hit. Skinner, on the other hand, is set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason, meaning the Oilers could have simply just walked away from him and looked elsewhere for a goalie.

As if that weren’t bad enough, many Oilers fans also felt it was questionable that Brett Kulak, a very reliable blueliner during his time in Edmonton, needed to be included in the trade. Though the deal was only made in December, it’s already become crystal clear that the Oilers management group made a very poor decision with this deal.

Further concerns were revealed with Tristan Jarry

Making matters worse, it started to be said more and more that at times the Penguins had concerns with Jarry’s work ethic and compete level. While not necessarily deemed as a lazy player, his competitive edge didn’t seem to be as high as what you’d expect from an NHLer. Once he started to struggle, his compete level became a source of frustration within the Penguins organization.

Any hopes that joining a team in more of a win-now mode would change that work ethic seemingly hasn’t been the case. Late in the regular season, Bob Stauffer alluded to the fact that some Oilers teammates appeared to be a bit discontent with the effort level they were seeing from Jarry in practice. That effort level, or perhaps better phrased as a lack of intensity, has carried into games.

After sitting out the first three games of the playoffs versus the Anaheim Ducks, Jarry got the call to start in Game 4 with the Oilers trailing 2-1. Overall, he had a solid performance, allowing four goals on 38 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss. That said, former NHL goaltender and current New York Rangers analyst Stephen Valiquette was still concerned by what he saw from the Oilers netminder.