It keeps getting weirder for Edmonton Oilers goalie Tristan Jarry

It just keeps getting weirder and weirder for the Oilers newest goalie.

And he hasn’t even played a game in Edmonton yet.

Act II in Tristan Jarry’s whirlwind tour of emotion goes Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, where he will take on a Penguins team he spent nearly 10 full seasons with.

It’s all happening so fast that for all he knows he’ll still be wearing his old Penguins mask while he tries to lead the Oilers to victory over Pittsburgh.

“It’s all up in the air,” he laughed, speaking with reporters at a media scrum at the Oilers hotel. “Everything is happening so quick. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”

Traded on a Friday. Suits up for his new team on Saturday. Returns to Pittsburgh to play his old team on Tuesday.

“It’s obviously crazy,” said Jarry, who is 1-0 as an Oiler after beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3. “I’ve never been a part of anything like that, it’s all new.

“Going from one team to the next and playing the next day there are a lot of emotions. Putting on a different jersey for the first time was a little weird but I’m obviously very excited.”

Jarry has been around the game a long time, but getting dressed in the visitors room and having to play against former teammates he spent his whole career with, this soon after the trade, is next-level strange.

Goalies, especially Oilers goalies, have enough on their plate to deal with, so it’s going to take all the mental strength Jarry can muster to keep things on an even keel Tuesday night.

“It will be very weird. That first game (with Edmonton) felt like my first game in the NHL all over again. I’m sure playing in Pittsburgh will be much of the same.”

Leaving the Penguins wasn’t easy. Saying goodbye to your closest friends in the game never is. Jarry has been through thick and thin with the guys in that room and he envisioned playing his entire career in Pittsburgh. Just like Stuart Skinner felt about Edmonton and the Oilers.

“There are always rumours and speculation (about a trade),” said Jarry. “You block it out and don’t pay too much attention to it. But when I did get the call from Kyle (GM Dubas) it became very real.

“I was drafted here and played here for almost 10 years. I always thought I would never play for another team. I loved Pittsburgh. I loved living there. I love everything that came with putting that jersey on. It was very special to me. It was anything and everything I could have imagined.”

And now it’s over. No matter how much fame and money a hockey player enjoys, the human element of the sport is still very real.

But, when it comes to landing spots, Edmonton checks off just about every box.

He played for the Oil Kings. He spends his off-seasons at his house in Edmonton. And he’s joining a team that might still have a shot at a Stanley Cup.

“Spending my time there over the summer, where I got to skate with some of the guys, made it an easier transition. And knowing Calvin (Pickard) and Curtis (Lazar) for a long time helped a lot.

“They’re a tight group. It’s a special group and I’m excited to be part of it.”

A year ago at this time, Jarry wasn’t looking like he would be part of any NHL team. He struggled in goal, his numbers took a dive and he wound up getting waived through the league and playing in the AHL.

That was a crossroads that might give some indication of the mental toughness he’ll need to do the job in Edmonton.

“There was a choice to be made there,” he said, adding it was up to him and him alone whether he pulled his game together. “Whether I just wanted to pack it in and play out the rest of my contract there (AHL Wilkes-Barre) or I wanted to make a choice and be better for it.

“Being able to have that choice and being able to do that brought me back as a better goalie and a better person.”

Act III in the whirlwind tour takes place when he plays his first game at Rogers Place as an Oiler — either on Sunday, the second half of a tough Minnesota-Vegas road-home back-to-back or Tuesday against the Calgary Flames.

The Oilers are coming off a defensive disaster in losing 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens, a night that saw them give up four breakaways. Their occasional defensive lapses are well-documented, which isn’t the first thing a new goalie wants to hear, but the 30-year-old knows exactly what he’s getting into in the Edmonton pressure cooker.

And he loves it.

“You obviously watch a lot of games playing for the Oil Kings and sharing the rink,” he said. “There is a huge following for the team and with everything that comes with the team, and around the team, it’s a different challenge.

“Pittsburgh is a great hockey city and they’re very passionate about their team, too. I think bringing that to Edmonton makes it a little easier for me. I look at it as the next chapter in my life and hopefully I can help Edmonton.”

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com

​Werkman, Glenn (Edm Journal)​

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