"Regardless of last year's outcome, it's a new day," Chiodo said. "He's got another season to prepare for that doesn't have a memory. The puck has no idea what happened last year. The puck is going to come at him the same way. And I think our responsibility is to be in the present, have a growth mindset, and get better every single day."
That's exactly what Jarry tried to do this summer when he returned home to western Canada following the disappointing finish to his first season as the Penguins' starter.
"Just get down and get to work," Jarry said of his approach. "I think that was the biggest part of my summer, that I just wanted to work hard and improve my game. I was training out in Edmonton with some guys, and I think the guys I trained with really helped me. They pushed me to be a better goalie, and I think that will really help me this year."
Looking at the big picture, there was actually a lot to like about the way Jarry played. After a bit of a rough start early on, he regrouped and finished the year with 25 wins - third-most in the NHL - and earned at least one point in 15 of his last 17 starts. Jarry was one of the main reasons the Penguins finished first place in the East Division.
"When I came in in February, he was very good kind of right through the end," Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said. "Then you get into playoffs, obviously we know what happened there."
As unfortunate as it was, experience is the best teacher. And the hard lessons Jarry went through in Games 5 and 6 of the First Round against the New York Islanders should only help him become a stronger and more resilient goaltender.
"I learned a lot of things from that game, and I think it'll help during the season," said Jarry, Pittsburgh's second-round pick in 2013. "It's exciting to get going. I've been here for quite a while now, I think this is my eighth or ninth training camp, and I'm excited to be back and be better."
And so far, Hextall - a former NHL netminder himself - likes what he sees from Jarry, who's sporting a brand-new pair of black pads.
"As I said at the end of the year, I think Jars grew from the experience," Hextall said. "And when you look back at goaltenders in the playoffs, there's a lot of ups and downs with most goaltenders. You can go back to guys like Patrick Roy, who had down times in playoffs. We expect Jars to grow from it, come in here, be a pro, work hard. And in the end, obviously his job is to stop the puck. So far, he's come in in good shape, and he looks good."
Sullivan said that the Penguins' expectations for Jarry, an NHL All-Star in 2019-20, remain high as ever.
"He's a really good goalie," Sullivan said. "That opinion hasn't changed on any of our parts. He's a very capable guy. He played a lot of really good hockey for us through stretches of the season last season, and so we're just looking for a little bit more consistency."
To do that, Sullivan said they want Jarry to focus on the process and to not get ahead of himself. Being where his feet are is certainly a good start.
"You build habits in practice, and you rely on those habits throughout the course of the year," Sullivan said. "So we're going to be sticklers for his habits. We're going to push him to be at his best in practice. And hopefully those habits will translate into the games, and we'll get a little bit more consistency in this game."
