Oilers’ GM Gives Surprising Answer When Asked About Tristan Jarry

Stan Bowman met with the media on Wednesday and spoke about the moves the Edmonton Oilers made in free agency. What was predicted to be a quiet day wound up being quite active and the moves included a couple of signings, a trade of Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks, and a trade to acquire Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres. The trade to acquire Levi had some wondering what the meant for the future of Tristan Jarry.

Bowman’s answer was a bit surprising.

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Bowman confirmed that Jarry would be back next season. “Tristan will be back. We are still looking at some other things for our roster. We wanted to find a young goalie and we see a lot of upside in his (Levi) game.” Bowman added, “He adds he feels is ready to take the next step.”

The Oilers may not going into the season with Jarry and Levi as the tandem, but that’s the way it’s looking right now. The Oilers see Levi as a goalie who hasn’t gotten an opportunity to really show what he can do. The plan is to give him that this season. Jarry will get an opportunity to find his game as well.

After joing the Oilers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, he struggled and then suffered an early injury. Coming back from injury he was even more inconsistent, eventually losing the starting job to Connor Ingram. The Oilers, however, chose not to re-sign Ingram, and he’ll test the market. He’s yet to sign.

Edmonton’s biggest hole (or at least uncertainty) is in goal. Levi played well in a limited starts, but he’s anything but proven. Jarry, meanwhile, has a contract that’s hard to move but he’s likely not going to get a ton of leash next season.

Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now tweeted, “FWIW. I don’t believe that the Edmonton Oilers are done here. GM Stan Bowman was just on @OilersNow and seemed bullish on bringing Kasperi Kapanen back. And I still think the team is considering adding a veteran in goal too.”

Next: Nurse Replacement?: Oilers Sign Ryan Shea to 5-Year Deal