This post was originally published on this site.
When the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this season, my immediate reaction was that it was probably a trade that needed to happen and had a good chance of working out for the Penguins. Perhaps in multiple ways.
It was a great time to move Jarry’s contract, it opened the position in the future for Sergei Murashov to eventually take the spot, they got a solid future asset in a second-round pick (even if down the road a few years) and were also getting some short-term NHL help.
Brett Kulak seemed like nothing special, but he is a legitimate NHL defenseman that has had some success in the league. The Penguins do not have a lot of depth at the position, and every viable NHL player you can get there can help.
Stuart Skinner has had the same inconsistencies and highs and lows of Jarry, but carries them on a significantly cheaper salary cap rate for this season and with no commitment beyond this season.
After Thursday’s win against the Philadelphia Flyers, Skinner has now appeared in eight games with the Penguins and has seen his save percentage climb from .891 with the Oilers, up to .901 with the Penguins. He is also on a little bit of a roll that has seen him win four of his past five starts, allowing just seven goals in the process.
Jarry, meanwhile, has only appeared in four games with the Oilers (due to injury — which was always another concern with him) and in that limited sampling has seen his save percentage drop from .909 with the Penguins down to .878 with the Oilers.
I am making no proclamations on either number. They are both insanely small sample sizes and my original point on both of them remains the same — they are largely the same goalie with the same inconsistencies and both of their performances are going to fluctuate and vary wildly throughout the season. You can split hairs on them, but the contract situation and long-term outlook beyond this season is the most important one.
But I also think Kulak has been a useful addition.
He is by no means a difference-maker, but he has at the very least given the Penguins a competent NHL defenseman, something they have not really had enough of from the start of the season. He has not only seemed to be a good fit next to Kris Letang, the Penguins as a team have been playing better defensively over the past month. It has been a steady upward trend to begin with for them going back to the start of the season, but things have really improved over the past 15 games.
The primary focus behind the trade itself was almost certainly financial and cap-related. But getting a couple of useful players in the short-term is also a nice bonus. Especially when both of them should be movable by the trade deadline if things go south with the season and the playoff race between now and then. If things keep progressing in a positive direction and the Penguins have a couple of useful players that might be able to help in that push.