This week`s `Friday Four` segment delves into several compelling narratives developing across the National Hockey League, featuring:
- Will the Penguins consider trading Tristan Jarry following their acquisition of Arturs Silovs?
- The Ducks` shrewd investment in Lukas Dostal.
- Vegas`s potential need for a more robust partner for Adin Hill.
- Jet Greaves` deserving bid for a spot in the Blue Jackets` net.
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
For any NHL teams looking to bolster their goaltending, available options are scarce at this juncture. The top free agent netminders are primarily suited for backup roles, making the trade market the only viable avenue for substantial upgrades. Even so, few teams are actively seeking goalie assistance, and even fewer goalies make sense as trade targets. The Edmonton Oilers are one such team that might be in the market for a new netminder, as they weigh whether to continue with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard for another season. It`s a challenging decision; while the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive years with this duo, much of that success often occurred despite, rather than because of, their goaltending.
Edmonton operates with minimal salary cap space, meaning any cap maneuvering required to bring in a new goalie would necessitate reasonable certainty that the addition would genuinely be an improvement. There`s been considerable discussion about whether a player like Tristan Jarry, who played his junior hockey in Edmonton, would be a good fit. The Oilers would undoubtedly be taking a significant risk by acquiring him. He`s coming off a disastrous season, which saw him demoted to the AHL after clearing waivers. The 30-year-old concluded the season with a .893 save percentage and a goals-against average exceeding three, playing for a Pittsburgh team that missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Despite the inherent risk, Jarry`s recent struggles could also make this the opportune moment to acquire him. You`d be buying low, and the trade return wouldn`t be exorbitant for a goaltender coming off such a poor season. Furthermore, if the Penguins absorbed a portion of his salary cap hit, Jarry`s cap number could potentially drop to around the $3 million range. This significantly mitigates risk and makes the remaining years of his contract more manageable.
With the Penguins recently adding Arturs Silovs, they could theoretically move Jarry as they head into a season where their primary goal might be to secure the best odds for drafting Gavin McKenna, rather than making the playoffs. Pittsburgh should be aiming for the first overall pick next summer, and even after a tough year, Jarry is still likely their best option in net. Removing him and opting for a tandem of Silovs and Joel Blomqvist would probably increase their chances of winning the draft lottery.
Now, the critical question for the Oilers is whether Jarry would genuinely be an upgrade over their current situation. Based on last year`s statistics, the answer is clearly no. Jarry`s performance was subpar. However, from an optimistic Oilers` perspective, it was a limited sample size. The veteran only played 36 games last season, and half of those were `quality starts` (appearances with a save percentage over .900). This included a stretch of nine quality starts in his final 14 games. The major issue was that when Jarry was bad, he was exceptionally bad, allowing four or more goals in 10 games, with pucks finding the net early and often. These poor outings heavily skewed his overall numbers, but again, it was a small sample. Jarry has played nearly 300 career games, and his numbers have been consistently strong for the majority of them.
The hope would be that Jarry would revert to the form he displayed before last season, especially on a better team. Even with last season`s setback, Jarry still holds a career save percentage of .909 and a record of 152-97-31. To put that into perspective, Jarry`s career mark is still higher than the league average save percentage in each of the past five seasons. Moreover, Pittsburgh offered him little defensive support in 2024-25. The Penguins were a weak defensive team, ranking 26th in high-danger chances allowed. Conversely, the Oilers were fourth best in that category last year, giving up 134 fewer high-danger chances than the Penguins.
It`s reasonable to expect Jarry would perform better in Edmonton than he did last year in Pittsburgh, and the bar for improvement is quite low. Skinner and Pickard combined for an .888 save percentage in last season`s playoffs, so surpassing that should be an achievable feat for Jarry, who has consistently demonstrated much better play throughout most of his career.
Ultimately, this decision likely hinges on the acquisition cost and how much of Jarry`s cap hit Pittsburgh would be willing to retain. If the Penguins are prepared to absorb two or three million dollars, and the Oilers don`t have to give up much to acquire Jarry, the potential reward could be well worth the risk. A tandem of Skinner and Jarry with a combined cap hit under $6 million is perfectly reasonable in a rising cap environment. At Jarry`s current price, however, it would represent too significant a risk for the Oilers to undertake.
In the end, if the Oilers genuinely aim to upgrade their goaltending, Jarry might be one of the few realistic options available at this moment, even if it`s a considerable gamble.
Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have had a busy off-season, and perhaps their most crucial move was securing Lukas Dostal for the long term. Anaheim recently signed Dostal to a five-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $6.5 million, effectively buying out several unrestricted free agent (UFA) years.
At first glance, Dostal`s statistics might not seem particularly impressive, but they don`t fully capture his effectiveness for the Ducks. The 25-year-old has played only 121 games, posting save percentages of .902 and .903 in his first two full NHL seasons, which are generally considered average for an NHL goaltender. However, given the challenging circumstances Dostal has faced early in his career, his performance has actually been quite strong.
Anaheim has been a defensively weak team for much of his tenure. In 2024-25, they surrendered 847 high-danger chances against, the highest in the league. The previous year, the Ducks were only marginally better, finishing 26th. Despite receiving minimal defensive support, Dostal recorded a stellar 14.3 goals saved above expected last season, proving his ability to thrive in a difficult situation. In fact, Dostal started the year exceptionally well, posting a .945 save percentage in October, with seven quality starts in eight appearances.
This strong start occurred while John Gibson was sidelined for the first month due to injury, signaling to the Ducks that Dostal can handle a heavy workload and performs best when playing regularly and maintaining a rhythm. With Gibson now gone, Dostal faces little competition in the Anaheim crease, so he is expected to play significantly more in 2025-26. The Ducks would not have traded Gibson unless they had full confidence in Dostal, who appears to be just scratching the surface of his capabilities.
Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas completed its most significant off-season move early this summer by acquiring Mitch Marner, but other needs still require attention.
One such need could be in goal, as Ilya Samsonov, Adin Hill`s former backup, does not appear to be returning and remains a free agent. Currently, Akira Schmid is the only genuine option behind Hill, which presents a couple of potential issues. Firstly, Schmid is relatively inexperienced, with only 48 career appearances and inconsistent numbers. Should Hill suffer an injury, relying on Schmid for an extended period would be risky.
The other concern is how much the Golden Knights can depend on Hill. He played 50 games for the first time in his career last season, and his numbers significantly declined in the playoffs. The 29-year-old finished the postseason with an .887 save percentage and particularly struggled in the series against the Edmonton Oilers, allowing at least three goals in every game but one. Prior to last year`s 50 games, Hill`s career high in appearances in any single season was 35. He previously benefited greatly from having a partner like Logan Thompson, allowing them to share starts more evenly.
It seems to be in Vegas`s best interest to acquire a more reliable partner for Hill to keep him fresh when the most crucial games arrive. This won`t be easy given the available options; a player like Tristan Jarry, even with salary retention, would likely be outside their price range due to their cap situation. Another factor for Vegas is that their defense, once arguably the deepest in the league, will not be as formidable in 2025-26. Alex Pietrangelo`s injury and the departure of Nic Hague will weaken the unit, placing greater pressure on the goaltending to bail them out occasionally.
Hill is signed for the next six seasons at over $6 million per year, so he will need to deliver on that investment and return closer to the elite goaltender he was when Vegas won the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights should ideally have a net advantage over a team like the Oilers in the playoffs with Hill, but that was not the case this past season. Reducing Hill`s workload may be key to helping him regain his peak form.
Jet Greaves, Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets narrowly missed the playoffs last season, though it wasn`t due to a lack of effort from goaltender Jet Greaves.
After being called up late in the year, Greaves posted a 5-0-0 record with a .975 save percentage to conclude the campaign, allowing only four goals in those five starts. While it was a very small sample size, Greaves continues to impress every time he gets an opportunity for the Blue Jackets, and he may well receive a more extended look in 2025-26.
Columbus has struggled with goaltending for several years, as Elvis Merzlikins has now recorded a save percentage below .900 for three consecutive seasons. There was some optimism surrounding Daniil Tarasov at one point, but he also struggled significantly in 2024-25, finishing with an .881 save percentage before being traded to the Florida Panthers earlier this summer. This opens an opportunity for Greaves to compete with Merzlikins for playing time, and if he`s even half as good as he showed late last year, he`ll have a strong chance to earn plenty of starts.
It`s fair to ponder where the Blue Jackets would have finished last season with even average goaltending. Columbus had a top-10 offense but struggled to keep the puck out of their net, ranking 22nd overall in team save percentage. When you finish just two points shy of the postseason, it`s clear how much of a difference an extra save here and there would have made. Now, if Greaves can maintain his strong play on one of the league`s most exciting young teams, it wouldn`t be surprising to see the Blue Jackets in the playoffs next spring.