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At least for now, the Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t planning on trading away Tristan Jarry. General manager Jim Rutherford believes that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton should be able to keep its starting goalie to open the 2019-20 season.
Rutherford told DKPittsburghSports.com on Friday that he would prefer to try and sneak Jarry — who has been a mainstay in net for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over the past four seasons — through waivers rather than try and deal him.
The risk there is that another team claims Jarry for their NHL roster and the Penguins lose the former second-round pick for nothing. But after scanning the league’s depth charts after the primary wave of free agency, Rutherford said he doesn’t see that happening.
“The goalie market really changed,” Rutherford said in an interview with Hall of Fame reporter Dave Molinari. “There were a lot of free-agent goalies this year, so teams weren’t trading for goalies. I’m not as sure that, if we had to put a goalie on waivers, they wouldn’t clear at this point because of the number of teams that picked up free-agent goalies.
“That market is kind of shifting all the time. I don’t feel any urgency to move a goalie, prior to training camp or the start of the season.”
With Pittsburgh giving a seven-figure extension to Casey DeSmith earlier this year, odds are high that he will remain the backup to starter Matt Murray this fall.
Rutherford has long preferred to hold onto three NHL-caliber goalies for depth. Presumably a shift in the league’s goalie landscape — say, a rash of injuries during training camp — could change the Penguins’ mind on a trade. But not at the moment.
Regardless of Jarry’s fate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has purchased some insurance in net for this season, signing veteran Dustin Tokarski to an AHL contract. The organization will also have newcomers Alex D’Orio and Emil Larmi in camp to battle for jobs with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and ECHL Wheeling.
Jarry, 24, is entering the final year of his contract with Pittsburgh and would be a restricted free agent next summer. Since his pro debut in 2015-16, Jarry has appeared in 141 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, sporting a 2.55 goals against average and a .915 save percentage while going 77-48-15-9.
Wilkes hires hockey coach
After a highly successful inaugural season, the Wilkes men’s hockey team elected to stay in-house to find its new leader.
The university announced Friday afternoon that Tyler Hynes, a graduate assistant for the Colonels last season, has been promoted to head coach. Hynes, 25, replaces Brett Riley, who landed an assistant coaching job at Div. I Colgate last month.
Riley and his staff got the Colonels program off to an impressive start in 2018-19. Wilkes went 16-8-2 with an 11-5-2 mark in the Div. III United Collegiate Hockey Conference, hosting a playoff game and staying in contention for a league title into the final weekend.
“I am humbled and incredibly excited to build upon the foundation Brett Riley established here,” Hynes said through the school. “After a successful inaugural season, the bar is set high for this program and it is my goal to continue fostering a culture of excellence in the community, classroom and on the ice.
“This past year as a graduate assistant, I established a strong relationship with the student-athletes, and I look forward to continue building this program together.”
An native of Albany, N.Y., Hynes spent two years in the USHL before playing parts of four seasons at Union College, where he was teammates with future Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Jeff Taylor and Ryan Scarfo. He arrived a year after the Philadelphia Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere helped lead the program to a national title.
“Tyler has such a promising future as a coach,” Wilkes Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Paul Adams said through the school. “We are delighted that he will be able to lead our men’s ice hockey program. Tyler played such an integral role in the team’s success during its first season.”
Wilkes’ second season is set to open Nov. 1 at the Toyota SportsPlex in Wilkes-Barre.