In June of 2023, a handful of weeks after he was installed as president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kyle Dubas flew to Edmonton, Alberta, to meet with goaltender Tristan Jarry, then a pending unrestricted free agent, at his offseason home.

From that encounter, Dubas felt comfortable enough to extend a lucrative five-year contract with a salary cap hit of $5.375 million to Jarry and entrust him with the most important position on the ice for the franchise.

A little more than two years since that pact was signed, Dubas has sent Jarry back to Edmonton.

On Friday, the Penguins traded the talented but inconsistent goaltender to the Edmonton Oilers along with rookie forward Sam Poulin in exchange for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round draft pick in 2029.

The transaction was made a handful of days before the Oilers visit Pittsburgh for a contest Tuesday.

“Just think with where we’re at, the opportunity to bring in a goalie that has deep experience in (Skinner), plus the draft pick, it just made sense for us to do it at this time,” Dubas said Friday in Cranberry. “I think Tristan, as everyone here has seen, is extremely talented.”

That talent led to him being selected as an All-Star twice (2020 and 2022) and was rarely in question. But the results often left much to be desired.

Replacing two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray as the franchise’s top goaltender in 2020, Jarry struggled badly in the 2021 postseason during a first-round loss to the New York Islanders. Then, just prior to the 2022 playoffs, a right foot injury sidelined him late in the regular season.

Last season, Jarry hit rock bottom … then sank even lower. After struggles early in the 2024-25 campaign led to him being sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint, he continued to frustrate with inconsistent performances upon his return to the NHL club. By January, he was placed on waivers.

After going unclaimed by the NHL’s other 31 clubs, Jarry was sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with no return date in mind. By March, with the Penguins all but formally eliminated from postseason contention, Jarry was recalled and cobbled together a solid run late in the regular season, going 8-4-2 over his final 14 games of the campaign.

Entering this past offseason, Dubas had declared an open competition for the goaltending roles on the NHL club and Jarry had emerged as the team’s top netminder, at least in terms of success. In 14 games, he had a 9-3-1 record, a 2.66 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and one shutout.

“As long as I’ve been here, he’s always been our No. 1 goalie,” said forward Rickard Rakell, a member of the Penguins since February of 2022. “He’s been the backbone of winning us hockey games. He’s been really important for our organization (and) for our team for a long time. It’s going to be different not having him around.”

What isn’t all that different is the Penguins’ immediate salary cap situation. Kulak ($2.75 million) and Skinner ($2.6 million) combine for a similar salary cap hit ($5.35 million) to Jarry’s ($5.75 million).

Poulin, a first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2019, was not on the Penguins’ NHL roster at the time of the trade, and his $750,000 cap hit was not on the books.

From a broader perspective, Jarry has two years remaining on this contract beyond the current season, and Kulak and Skinner are each pending unrestricted free agents this upcoming offseason. Poulin is also scheduled to reach unrestricted free agency after this season.

Another matter that remains status quo is Dubas’ hopes for the 2025-26 Penguins. With a 14-8-7 record and 35 points, they entered Friday situated in the second wild-card position of the Eastern Conference.

Few outside of the organization anticipated they would be in position to threaten for a postseason berth.

Dubas’ projections were different for the club he has crafted.

“I think we’re capable of more than we’ve shown,” Dubas said. “That’s my expectation every day. Everyone in the room here has seen it when we’re at our best, that we cannot only play but carry play against the very best teams in the league. We’ve left points on the table that I think everyone in the room regrets and laments.

“My expectation is we continue to get better and push. The (playoff) races are wide open, both divisionally and within the conference.”

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