VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- For the last week or so, Mike Sullivan has cited the Penguins creating a "comprehensive game plan" aimed at helping Tristan Jarry recapture his best game after a challenging start to the season.
On Saturday, that game plan entered its next phase -- Jarry was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a conditioning assignment, and is expected to be in the lineup when Wilkes-Barre faces Syracuse later tonight.
Kyle Dubas is a big fan of utilizing conditioning assignments, but to this point that has mainly meant an aggressive use of the more common conditioning assignments, meant for players coming off of long-term injured reserve. Those assignments allow players coming off injury to play up to three games or spend up to six days in the AHL to rehab whatever was ailing them, with there being a possibility for the team to apply with the league for an extension if needed. This kind of conditioning assignment Jarry is on is different -- he's not dealing with any kind of injury, something Dubas confirmed on Saturday. The non-injury conditioning assignments have to be approved by the league as not a method of circumventing the cap (the Penguins aren't doing that, they've carried three goaltenders against the cap all season and will continue to do so while Jarry is in the AHL) and the player has to approve the assignment. These assignments can last longer -- up to two weeks.
Dubas on Saturday said that Jarry will spend the full two weeks in the AHL and start in all five of Wilkes-Barre's games in that stretch, a workload made possible by Wilkes-Barre not having any back-to-backs.
"The decision was based solely on what we believe is the best course to have Tristan find his form and get ample game action to transfer the work he is doing on the ice with our goaltending staff and off the ice into games," Dubas explained in an email on Saturday after the move was made. The expectations for him while down there are to play each game for Wilkes-Barre over the next 14 days and set himself to come back to Pittsburgh confident and in good form."
The path Jarry has taken as of late has been an interesting one. He came on the Penguins' western Canada trip and did not dress in the games in Winnipeg or Calgary, as Alex Nedeljkovic made his first two NHL starts of the season and Joel Blomqvist backed up. The Penguins had an off day following the game in Calgary, and then practiced in Edmonton on Thursday. When the Penguins took the ice for practice in Thursday, Jarry wasn't present. Sullivan said afterward that Jarry had been sent back to Pittsburgh to work with director of goaltending Jon Elkin, and that the move was a planned one since before the start of the trip.
It seemed odd to fly Jarry out west to have him sit, then fly him back home. But Dubas explained the logistics behind the decision, citing the desire for practice time with Andy Chiodo and the lack of practice time in the second half of the road trip.
"Tristan travelled to Winnipeg and Calgary with the team so that he could get three solid practice days with Andy Chiodo," Dubas said. "On the off day – Wednesday – he travelled back to Pittsburgh given that we had limited practice time with back to back games coming up and knowing he would report to Wilkes-Barre to play today. He continued to work with Jon Elkin and travelled to Wilkes from Pittsburgh (a much shorter and direct trip than Edmonton or Vancouver to Wilkes-Barre). As the traveling media contingent knows, flying someone from western Canada back to Pennsylvania requires an entire day. All of this was discussed and planned with Tristan last week. The goal was to maximize coaching, use the off day as efficiently as possible and reduce the travel time into Wilkes-Barre before playing today."
What happens when Jarry's conditioning stint is over? That's yet to be determined. Dubas said earlier in the week on the Penguins' GM show that Jarry or Nedeljkovic would not go on waivers to be sent to Wilkes-Barre. Blomqvist could hypothetically be sent back without waivers, but he's undoubtedly been the Penguins' best goaltender so far this season, culminating in a 46-save performance in Edmonton on Friday.
Performance -- by Jarry, by the other two goaltenders still in Pittsburgh -- will determine exactly where the Penguins go from here.
"We have seven games over the next 14 nights with Pittsburgh and five over the next 14 nights with Wilkes-Barre," Dubas said. "This affords all of our goaltenders tremendous opportunity. We will evaluate where they all stand after this stretch and make the best decision for the Penguins."
