Sullivan, Jarry & Free-Agent Targets

Welcome to Pittsburgh Penguins News & Rumors, where we’ll cover everything going on surrounding the beloved hockey team in Pittsburgh. For today’s segment, we’ll cover head coach Mike Sullivan’s extension, Tristan Jarry’s likelihood of re-signing next, who could be potential replacements should he leave, and which remaining free agents make some sense for the Penguins.

Mike Sullivan Rewarded With Contract Extension

The Penguins announced on Tuesday that coach Sullivan had signed a three-year contract extension which will kick in following the 2022-23 season. The bench boss is a tremendous leader who has the ability to connect to his players better than most coaches in sports. Regardless of the adversity surrounding the Penguins roster, he always seems able to get the most out of his group.

Coach Sullivan: “It is hard to articulate in words what the Penguins mean to me. As far as my experience in Pittsburgh, it has changed my life and my family’s life in so many ways. If I could sum it up in one word, it would be gratitude.”

The gracious leader spoke highly about the organization and how much it means to him and his family. Sullivan took over the helm back in late 2015 and has since done nothing but win hockey games. Since he took over in Pittsburgh, he ranks fourth in regular-season wins with 297, and second with 44 Stanley Cup Playoff victories. His 297-156-54 record is impressive, and with every win, he will add to his record as the most winningest coach in franchise history.

This is a great move by general manager (GM) Ron Hextall. He’s shown this offseason that the team is still in win-now mode and considering all the pressure that comes with leading the Penguins, Hextall has made it look easy. The work doesn’t stop, however, as training camp is only a few weeks away and he will be trying to do whatever he can to upgrade his hockey team during the regular season.

Penguins Netminder Waiting on Extension

With coach Sullivan locked up, this coming after the likes of Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and Kris Letang were all signed to long-term extensions, now the attention turns to goaltender Tristan Jarry.

Jarry is a pending unrestricted free agent who is currently making a very reasonable $3.5 million against the cap. His next contract will likely start in the $6 million range and at this point, the extension talks have been very quiet.

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