Penguins Re-Sign Tristan Jarry and Sign Ryan Graves

The Pittsburgh Penguins made some noise on the first day of NHL Free Agency. New President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas made a bold move by re-signing free agent goaltender Tristan Jarry to a five-year extension. The contract is worth $26.875 million and it carries $5.375 million AAV. It also includes a modified no-trade clause.

There was a lot of talk about the Penguins moving on from Jarry considering his ask. Not to mention his injury history. But as the goalie market started to dwindle and the asking prices for goalies on the trade market became too high the Penguins decided to stick with Jarry. It will be interesting to see if he finishes the contract.

We have seen the good and the bad of Tristan Jarry. When healthy he is a good goaltender, but he has been a reason why the Penguins have struggled in the playoffs and missed last year for the first time in 16 years.

But again the goalie market was set by Cal Pettersen, Jack Campbell, and Darcy Kuemper. Last season appearing in 47 games, Jarry had a record of  24-13-7 with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and two shutouts. Again he missed time due to an injury.

Dubas made it clear he believed in this group. You can never count a Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin-led team Dubas said when he took the job. Hopefully, for Dubas and the Penguins, Jarry can get the job done as the window for the Penguins is closing.

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That was not the only signing Dubas did on July 1st. The Penguins grabbed Noel Acciari to a three-year deal worth $6 million. The contract carries a $2 million cap hit. Acciari was one of the players Dubas acquired when he was with the Maple Leafs. This does not come as a surprise. It was only a matter of time before he plucked someone from Toronto. Acciari is a gritty bottom-line forward that Pittsburgh needed.

Along with Acciari, the Penguins also added even more depth with the signings of Lars Eller, and Matt Nieto. Acciari got a three-year contract while Eller and Nieto each got two-year deals. Depth scoring was a problem for the Penguins last year. With the loss of Jason Zucker, the Penguins had to replenish the cupboard.

Another big signing for the Penguins was defenceman Ryan Graves. Graves was with the Devils last season, and previously mentioned on Full Press Hockey, the Devils were not going to re-sign with the emergence of Luke Hughes. Dubas signed him to a six-year deal that carries a $4.9 million salary cap hit. Graves is a top-four defenceman and the Penguins need to boost that area with the loss of Brian Dumoulin.

Like with Jarry, the length of the contract may not be ideal for a player that is getting up in age. But Dubas had a busy day for the Penguins. He also added Alex Nedeljkovic to give the Penguins depth in the goalie position with Jarry and Casey DeSmith.

The Penguins addressed needs, but will the term be their undoing?