Jarry Jarred by injuries?

Penguins' goalie Tristan Jarry has had a rough month. On Jan. 2, Jarry had to leave the much-anticipated Winter Classic just 15 minutes into the game due to a lower body injury that kept him on injured reserve for nearly three weeks. He could finally return on Jan. 20, but after playing just two games, Jarry was once again out of the lineup due to a brand new, unrelated upper body injury. Over both of these stretches, the Penguins have called up Dustin Tokarski from the AHL, but Casey deSmith has remained the starting goalie for the majority of games. While I’m not saying that deSmith sucks, I am saying that the Penguins are 9-11-4 while he’s on the ice. Neither he nor Tokarski (with a record of just 1-1-0) can compare to Tristan Jarry’s 16-5-5. You'll understand why I’m anxious for Jarry to be back.

Just as strong as my wish for the Penguins to win, I'd love to see Jarry remain with the Penguins for a while longer. Unfortunately, he might not be able to show that he's worth another contract if he can't get back out on the ice and prove that he can keep the pucks out, and keep himself in. Jarry is one of the main reasons I started actually watching hockey — I remember listening to one of my first ever games and the announcers were just losing their minds over Jarry’s stops. I remember going to see the Pens play in person for the first time and losing my own mind over his saves! If you scroll back in my Twitter, you will find a tweet in which I call Tristan Jarry my hero. If the Pens don't renew Jarry's contract, he'll be a unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. I have to say, if Jarry moves teams, he'll be taking a little piece of my loyalty to the Pens with him. This one's for you, Ron Hextall: You better keep this guy around.

Earlier this week, the Penguins announced that Jarry would be going back on injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 22. While this means he can still come back any time, there have been no hints as to when Jarry might return. However, he was seen practicing with the team as recently as Thursday, and was well enough to accompany the team on their three-game California road trip this weekend.