Recent news on the Tristan Jarry-Oilers teammate dispute

It might sound unbelievable, but the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending situation has somehow deteriorated even further this season.

After more than three years of underwhelming performances from Stuart Skinner, the Oilers attempted to reset the position with a major trade involving the Pittsburgh Penguins.

GM Stan Bowman brought in Tristan Jarry in exchange for Skinner, hoping to upgrade the team’s netminding—but things haven’t gone as planned.

Since joining Edmonton, Jarry has posted a 3.96 GAA and a .862 save percentage. In comparison, Skinner has performed better in Pittsburgh with a 2.63 GAA and a .889 save percentage. Ouch.

Reports are now emerging that Jarry has been clashing with teammates off the ice, and NHL insider Elliotte Friedman says tensions have spilled onto the rink. “There’s a lot of talk that Jarry got into it with teammates during practice,” Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast. “It’s been a challenging year for the Oilers.”

Oilers insider Bob Stauffer also confirmed some friction between Jarry and the team. “There are a few concerning things with Tristan,” Stauffer told Oilers Now. “Judging from what I saw on the ice yesterday, it seemed like there were some heated moments. And I didn’t like that after the 7-3 loss to Minnesota, Jarry publicly criticized how the team was defending in front of him.”

So much for the ‘solution’…

At the time of the trade, Jarry ranked just 25th among NHL goaltenders statistically. Could he realistically have been the fix Edmonton needed? Skinner may have struggled, but he was a respected teammate. Time and again, Bowman and the Oilers have failed to solve this glaring weakness, and now, when they finally try, the situation appears to be worse.

Adding to the mess, Friedman reported that the Oilers had explored acquiring another goaltender at the trade deadline—but any deal would have required trading Jarry. Unsurprisingly, no team was willing to take him on. “Trading Jarry wasn’t possible. Both he and the Oilers are still adjusting to each other,” Friedman said.

It’s a complete mess in Edmonton.

Despite all this, Stauffer insists the team still has each other’s backs, including Jarry. He later clarified that earlier reports were overstated, emphasizing that the Oilers are a group that challenges one another in ways the best teams do. “It’s been a season of ups and downs, but to suggest the players don’t support each other is ridiculous. The best push each other every day, on and off the ice. There’s a big opportunity ahead for this group,” he said.

NHL insider Frank Seravalli echoed this sentiment, noting that the so-called Jarry “altercation” had been blown out of proportion. “There was no actual altercation,” Seravalli reported.

For now, it seems the full impact of Edmonton’s goaltending gamble will only be revealed when the playoffs arrive.