Mark Madden's Hot Take: Has Tristan Jarry saved his future in Pittsburgh?

When goalie Tristan Jarry cleared waivers and got sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in mid-January, his Pittsburgh Penguins tenure seemed over. Perhaps his NHL career, too.

But since being recalled to Pittsburgh three weeks ago, Jarry has rallied.

Jarry has done so under very little pressure, true.

The Penguins’ playoff hopes linger somewhere between dead and pretend. Jarry lost when the Penguins needed him to win, got demoted to the AHL, got recalled and now he’s winning when it would be better if he lost. Balls in the lottery, better draft picks, etc.

But the numbers don’t lie: Since returning to the Penguins, Jarry is 4-1 with a goals-against average of 2.40 and a save percentage of .928.

Those are excellent stats.

Jarry looks good, too.

He’s easy to read: When Jarry gets to the top of his crease, he’s on his game.

It’s a small sample. But has Jarry, 29, resurrected his career in Pittsburgh?

Perhaps.

His contract is part of the equation: At a salary cap hit of $5.375 million through 2027-28, Jarry is hard to trade. He’s played well since returning, but that doesn’t erase video of how bad he’d been. Interest in him would range between slight and nonexistent. The Penguins would surely retain salary in any swap.

If Jarry keeps performing well, perhaps he sticks with the Penguins next year.

One thing is certain: The Penguins can’t retain both Jarry and veteran Alex Nedeljkovic.

Nedeljkovic, 29, has one more season left at a cap hit of $2.5 million.

The Penguins have three goalies who are, to some degree, prospects: Joel Blomqvist, Filip Larsson and Sergei Murashov. All are with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, with Blomqvist recently nursing a minor injury. Murashov, 20, is probably the Penguins’ goaltending future.

But Murashov spent most of this season with the Penguins’ farm club in Wheeling. That’s Class AA hockey. The presence of too many goalies blocked Murashov from playing at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Murashov is 9-0 during his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was widely said to be too good for Wheeling.

The Penguins’ goaltending tandem next year must consist of one veteran and one of the prospects, presumably Blomqvist. (Murashov is better but likely needs a full season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Blomqvist, 23, sometimes struggled but was adequate at the NHL level earlier this season.)

So, either Jarry or Nedeljkovic has to go.

At one time that seemed like an easy call. Buy out Jarry if need be.

But Jarry is making it a bit more difficult. There’s no disputing his talent. He just needs to live up to it more consistently.

And stop the first shot. Before his demotion, Jarry conceded a goal on the first shot six times this season. Mercifully, it hasn’t happened since his recall.