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          Craig Custance Blog

          The X factor for the Penguins

          There's a chance we could see 21-year-old Tristan Jarry in goal for the Penguins this postseason. David Hahn/Icon Sportswire

          PITTSBURGH -- When Tristan Jarry arrived in Edmonton as a green, 15-year-old goalie for the Oil Kings of the WHL, the coaches there were a little concerned. In Jarry, they saw a goalie with good athleticism and a calm that belied his age -- but they wanted more intensity.

          There’s a benefit to keeping the highs and lows at a minimum, but they wanted to see the occasional high.

          “We learned that this is his personality,” said former Oil Kings coach and current Texas Stars coach Derek Laxdal on Thursday.

          They also learned to really appreciate it.

          “His goaltending personality is almost perfect for the position,” Laxdal said. “He’s a laid-back personality, who has a real quiet compete mindset.”

          It’s not to be confused with someone who isn’t competitive or doesn’t care. You don’t get drafted in the second round, win a Memorial Cup and work your way to the NHL if you’re not competitive. Jarry has done all of the above, and he’s done it with a calm about him that is absolutely necessary, as things get a bit scrambled in goal for the Penguins.

          He got thrown into the mix in Game 1 as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup when Matt Murray was injured during warmups. He was getting ready to do a workout during the game when a Penguins staffer told him to get ready.

          Was there time to call friends and family and give a heads up?

          “Nope,” he said simply. “It was just straight in.”

          How was that for a 21-year-old with one career NHL game on his résumé?

          “It’s one of those things where you have to refocus and get to work right away,” he said. “It helps you don’t have much time to think, and can go right into it.”

          Jarry now becomes a person of interest in this postseason. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said there’s no timetable attached to the return of Murray, only that Fleury is going to start Game 2 and Jarry is the backup once again.

          In Fleury, the Penguins believe they have a bona fide No. 1. And they may. This could be the end of the story. But we’ve witnessed too many Penguins playoff games to think there won't be another goaltending twist coming at some point, a twist that may include Jarry.

          He’s coming off a strong second season in the AHL after backing up Murray in 2015-16. He improved his save percentage from .905 that season to .925 this season. He said he watched how hard Fleury and Murray work to make small improvements, and has tried to do the same in honing his skills. The Penguins see a goalie who has found a consistency that wasn’t there before.

          “That’s what you’ve seen this year, his mental focus,” said Penguins associate GM Jason Botterill, who runs the AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre. “He battles through things a lot more. So instead of allowing four or five goals, it’s allowing three goals. If he does have a bad outing, it’s being able to come back the following game and have a good performance. Last year, that bad outing carried into two or three games down the road.”

          Jarry doesn’t yet have Murray’s AHL track record. There isn’t the buzz around him that accompanied Murray when he arrived. But Laxdal believes the Penguins have another goalie who could perform well if thrown into the fire.

          “He has great puck-handling skills. You can send two guys on the forecheck on him and he won’t get rattled,” Laxdal said. “He skates well, good puck-handling skills. Very technical. ... He just finds a way to get it done.”

          #CustanceCorrespondence

          Hiring Ken Hitchcock is a good start. He’s going to clean up the defensive issues as a team, and in doing that, it may help the goaltending.

          That said, GM Jim Nill can’t run back the same two goalies as this past season. He’s going to have to find a way out of one of those contracts, and bring in help in goal. The guy who I think is the perfect fit in Dallas is Blackhawks backup Scott Darling.

          If the Stars can find a way to pair a goalie upgrade with the changes Hitchcock will implement, they’re back on track. I don’t think the Stars are that far off. This was a strange season that never got off the ground, in large part because of injuries. The young defense will be one year older, and that will help too.

          No. My sense is that George McPhee is going to draft and develop this team to contention. The smart way to spend money would be to take on big contracts as part of expansion draft wheeling and dealing that also nets them young prospects or draft picks. Teams are going to see the expansion draft as a way to get out of bad contracts, and Vegas should be willing to help out -- in return for more young talent.

          That would be a better use of their money and salary cap space, rather than spending big in free agency in a class that isn’t particularly strong.

          The Pittsburgh Penguins. They’ve made the playoffs for 11 years in a row, and there’s no indication that they’re slowing down. That they have a bit of a head start on the Chicago Blackhawks (nine consecutive postseasons) gives them the edge.

          To get there, they would have to make a transition from Sidney Crosby to another young star, much like Detroit did in handing the baton from Steve Yzerman to the Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk era. Crosby is 29, so even if he plays until he’s 40 and the Penguins make it every single season, that still puts the Penguins at 22 consecutive years.

          That’s a tall order, and a reminder at just how impressive the Red Wings' streak truly was. My guess is that nobody comes close.

          Of those three, the player I’d project as having a best shot at being an awards finalist would be Victor Hedman. He was No. 3 on my Norris ballot behind Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. He had a great season, and I think he was the clear No. 3, which should earn him a spot in Las Vegas for the awards show.

          The other two aren’t as clear. I would give Nicklas Backstrom an edge on Matthew Tkachuk, just because the rookie class is so loaded. Tkachuk had a great season, but he wasn’t in my top five. I had Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, Matt Murray and Mitch Marner, and needed about five more spots in the Calder. I don’t Tkachuk he gets there. Backstrom might have the stronger case.

          Wow, those are a lot of restrictions. To make it happen, I’m going to have to go young and lean heavily on entry-level contracts. Is that cheating?

          Sniper: Patrik Laine ($925 thousand)
          Playmaker: Connor McDavid ($925 thousand)
          Grinder: Ryan Kesler ($6.9 million)
          Offensive defenseman: Erik Karlsson ($6.5 million)
          Defensive defenseman: Ryan Suter ($7.5 million)
          Goalie: Carey Price ($6.5 million)
          Goalie: Juuse Saros ($692 thousand)

          This puts me at about $30.1 million, gives me a nice mix of veterans and youth. Plus, I have another $5 million to spend at the trade deadline.

          Yes. This was a hot topic issue around the last CBA negotiations, with Anaheim’s Bob Murray one of the most vocal GMs about making a change to this loophole. I know there were teams that wanted it eliminated, but it wasn’t enough of a pressing issue to get it done in the last CBA.

          Now, it can’t be changed unless both sides agree to it, so the NHL would have to give the players something in return. And as we saw with the Olympics, those kind of agreements in the middle of a CBA are hard to strike.

          1. Connor McDavid, Oilers. Because he’s Connor McDavid.

          2. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Capitals. He played over 20 minutes in Game 1, had an assist and was a plus-1. I think he’s going to have a big postseason after struggling last spring. It was a great learning process to go through it, now he knows what to expect and he has the benefit of playing on a more balanced team that should allow him favorable matchups.

          3. Sean Monahan, Flames. He entered the playoffs playing well and scored a goal in Game 1. I like that he’s young and talented, but also has already had a taste of the playoffs from two seasons ago. It’s not going to be easy to produce against the Ducks' centers, but he’s definitely capable.

          4. Phil Kessel, Penguins. Because it’s the playoffs and that’s what Phil Kessel does. He looked great in Game 1. I don’t know if the Blue Jackets are going to have an answer for him in this series.

          5. Viktor Arvidsson, Predators. If Nashville is going to beat the Blackhawks, and the Predators are off to a good start, he’s going to have a major hand in it. He quietly had a big season for the Predators, scoring 31 goals, and scored a goal in the opener. He’s capable of keeping it going.

          In reference to this tweet during the second intermission of Game 1 against Boston:

          Haha, I don’t think the Ottawa Senators' social media team is going to live that down any time soon.