Kyle Dubas responds to criticism of the Tristan Jarry deal.
For the first time since taking over as president of hockey operations for the Penguins, Kyle Dubas is facing some backlash.
On Saturday, for the first time since he has taken over as president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kyle Dubas faced criticism from the Penguins fan base.
Although Dubas' moves had up until that point been viewed favorably, a massive contract extension handed out to goaltender Tristan Jarry on Saturday quickly changed the tone of the conversation around Dubas. To suggest that the talk around the Jarry extension was universally negative would be untrue, there were some who were fine with the deal, but it was the first time since Dubas took the job that I have heard any vocal criticism of his work at all.
For those of you who missed the news, Jarry was awarded a huge 5 year deal that comes in at a total of $26.875 million over the span of that contract. That works out to an average annual value and salary cap hit of $5.375 million per season, a significant increase from his cap hit of $3.5 million last season.
For what it's worth, Dubas is sticking by his decision to give Jarry the big contract and has now said as much publicly. ESPN's Greg Wyshynski reports that Dubas argued that Jarry's age, the current marketplace for goaltenders, and the goaltenders play over the last 3 seasons were all reasons to make this deal.
"His sample shows he can be better ... it's been made clear to him what my expectations are," said Dubas as per ESPN.
Whether or not Jarry, who has struggled with both health and consistency at times, can deliver on those expectations over the next 5 years remains to be seen.
