Contract Termination: [PIT] F Jesse Puljujarvi contract terminated by the Penguins

[Czechboy]

I was a big JP defender... it's getting harder and harder.lol It's always the same thing

Nice guy
big body
hustles
good attitude

0 points in 10 games

I maintain if he had learned to PK and adjusted his game to a bottom 6 player that he'd still be a viable NHLer.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Too much of a head case. He can look good for 3-4 games and be useless for months after.

 

[PanniniClaus]

The only issue with Puli is he's not very good at hockey. Top marks for everything else.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

edit - wrong thread

 

[DaveG]

I was a big JP defender... it's getting harder and harder.lol It's always the same thing

Nice guy
big body
hustles
good attitude

0 points in 10 games

I maintain if he had learned to PK and adjusted his game to a bottom 6 player that he'd still be a viable NHLer.

the guy has basically everything you'd want in a 3rd/4th liner other than hockey IQ. I'm convinced a good percentage of this board can read the play better than he can.

 

[God]

i'm just absolutely shocked that he seemingly looked really good in his draft year and has totally just been a dud at the nhl level, particularly with respect to hockey IQ. i'm pretty sure he was seen as a more complete version of laine (with less offensive ability, which isn't a knock on pulju), and you sort of thought his floor was a 20g 20a guy.

i don't recall any scouting reports talking about his lack of hockey IQ, and a quick google confirms that.

 

[Bruce Granville]

i'm just absolutely shocked that he seemingly looked really good in his draft year and has totally just been a dud at the nhl level, particularly with respect to hockey IQ. i'm pretty sure he was seen as a more complete version of laine (with less offensive ability, which isn't a knock on pulju), and you sort of thought his floor was a 20g 20a guy.

i don't recall any scouting reports talking about his lack of hockey IQ, and a quick google confirms that.

It‘s the lack of general IQ, I‘m afraid.

 

[Kaptah]

I am pretty sure 90% of people who actually watched Penquins games this season would say Puljujärvi started the season playing well, certainly far better than a couple of wingers that became fixtures to play every game. But Sullivan wanted something different. Jesse was unable to deliver what ever those changes Sullivan demanded from him were, and that lead to less and less of playing time, and eventually being demoted to AHL.

 

[Kaptah]

As the season has gone on, we have worked with Jesse and his representative Markus Lehto to try and ensure that his hard work returning from serious injury was not lost and to try and find him greater opportunity.

“Over the last week, those discussions have led to us granting Jesse his request for contract termination so he may explore opportunities with other organizations around the world. In the end, we felt that was the fair thing to do given the work Jesse has put in to getting himself back to this level.”

 

[Devilmademedoit]

What a draft pick...classic Oilers

Everyone on the planet had him as a top 5 pick... so do not let facts get in the way of your snark

 

[FinPanda]

All the tools no toolbox, great example of that.

 

[Sanf]

Kind of like Zadina was consensus pick and fell to Detroit at 6. The issue with consensus is that 1) Just because he's there doesn't mean he fits your team's needs. And 2) Most GM's will tell you that their lists and the Scouting Lists are usually wildly different.

There was article on Finnish sport paper recently where they interviewed 3 Finnish NHL scouts. According to the article Puljujärvi was quite polarizing player among scouts. It gives you a picture that Colorado probably wouldnt have picked him even if he was available at 10. You are right that there can be big difference between NHL teams/scouts list compared to publication/fan lists. Sometimes it seem odd that there is so little variation between lists of different publications.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Surprised no one would do a contract swap

This is what, his third team? And he still can barely do much. I wager most teams would rather give his spot to younger players to see if they're long term fits than bother with Puljujarvi. He's only lasted this long because of his draft position.

 

[eojsmada]

There was article on Finnish sport paper recently where they interviewed 3 Finnish NHL scouts. According to the article Puljujärvi was quite polarizing player among scouts. It gives you a picture that Colorado probably wouldnt have picked him even if he was available at 10. You are right that there can be big difference between NHL teams/scouts list compared to publication/fan lists. Sometimes it seem odd that there is so little variation between lists of different publications.

My general thought is that Central Scouting is held in such high esteem that it's rare for "popular" draft/prospect analysts to argue with them, in general. That and I think that the methodology for scouting is based on a level of relative subjectivity, because in some cases you aren't just being objective with your grading of a prospect, but rather there is a great deal of comparison and ranking to other prospects.

That and when Central Scouting issues its reports, it doesn't give the rankings of all the scouts, but comes up with a general consensus or even relying on one particular scout to assess the potential of a player.

And, of course, scouting reports never show how the individual is wired and whether they are willing to endure what it takes to live up to their relative projection.

I'm pretty sure that's why teams simply create their own lists and then, perhaps, check against other lists to see if they might have missed out on being able to see a particular prospect.

 

[Dust]

On the verge of cracking into a positive +/- on the Pens, so to not further embarrass the rest of the team they released him.

 

[SwedishFire]

No way this guy is worse than Matt Nieto

Yes he is. He can skate fast, and.... skate fast. Magnus Pääjärvi 2.0. Big juniorstars, who skates like the wind, below average skating technique, basic puckcontrol, poor finnish ability , bad shoters, ok-ish passers, uses their body poor for being big.

He fits the finnish league

I’m not convinced he couldn’t kill penalties. For me this is like when DOC got traded—“like the guy, but not a big deal to lose him”.

Pulju is not an academic guy, I put it that way. Sorry Jesse, he is a good boy

 

[MessierThanThou]

Everyone on the planet had him as a top 5 pick... so do not let facts get in the way of your snark

It is depressing to know that the team could've swapped his pick for 2016 Ryan McDonagh, and possibly avoided the need to trade away Taylor Hall...at least so quickly after they landed McJesus.

 

[Shark Finn]

Get ready to learn Finn.. Oh wait

 

[ijuka]

The read on him never changed. Even pre-draft, it was: Great tools, terrible hockey IQ.

I also was disappointed by his attitude. Did he ever try to improve? I feel like he was constantly just whining and crying about being mistreated. Did he ever think it was his fault?

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Penguins fans will blame Sullivan, but the reality is that guys who score 3 goals in 20 games that don't offer anything in terms of special teams or versatility don't stick in the NHL.

Same exact thing happened to Puustinen as well.

This is complete horse shit by a Sullivan fan boy.

 

[TheStatican]

So sad... you never want to see anyone lose their job. Sullivan is a real prick, I honestly think he takes pleasure in not giving players chances and ending their careers. Tell me again how does this guy still have a job? Seriously, 7+ years is more than enough leeway a Stanley Cup win, or even two, gives you.

 

[The Panther]

Just saw this thread title... a little surprised. My impression was that Puljujarvi had been doing fairly well in Pittsburgh, but I see now it was just some early season numbers and then a big slow-down (maybe some clash with the coach as well?).

I'm an Edmonton fan, so I saw Pul's first few seasons in detail. My impression of him has always been that he has two really good qualities and two really bad ones:
GOOD
-- Size, strength, reach (though basically never hits anyone)
-- Positional play (advanced stats usually show that he's on the right side of the puck and generally knows where to be)
BAD
-- Offensive "hockey IQ" (there's just no getting around this when players lack it... in his case, he's positionally strong but offensively lost)
-- Complete and utter lack of finish (no pun intended)!

Two years ago, when McDavid scored 153 points, and three years ago as well, Puljujarvi got considerable time on his line. It was just sad. McDavid might have had 175 points in 2023 if Puljujarvi could fire a puck past a goalie and into the net. Lord knows how many times he was set up for Grade-A's and then missed the goal or fired a muffin...

Anyway, I think he will stay in the NHL if he really wants to. Don't know if he does, though.

 

[ijuka]

Just saw this thread title... a little surprised. My impression was that Puljujarvi had been doing fairly well in Pittsburgh, but I see now it was just some early season numbers and then a big slow-down (maybe some clash with the coach as well?).

I'm an Edmonton fan, so I saw Pul's first few seasons in detail. My impression of him has always been that he has two really good qualities and two really bad ones:
GOOD
-- Size, strength, reach (though basically never hits anyone)
-- Positional play (advanced stats usually show that he's on the right side of the puck and generally knows where to be)
BAD
-- Offensive "hockey IQ" (there's just no getting around this when players lack it... in his case, he's positionally strong but offensively lost)
-- Complete and utter lack of finish (no pun intended)!

Two years ago, when McDavid scored 153 points, and three years ago as well, Puljujarvi got considerable time on his line. It was just sad. McDavid might have had 175 points in 2023 if Puljujarvi could fire a puck past a goalie and into the net. Lord knows how many times he was set up for Grade-A's and then missed the goal or fired a muffin...

Anyway, I think he will stay in the NHL if he really wants to. Don't know if he does, though.

Puljujärvi had very bad shooting technique since his teenage years and never fixed it. He has a lot of strength on it but since the shot has such terrible technique the accuracy is poor and the release is bad, too. It's crazy that his technique never got fixed, and that he's not put in the effort, by, for instance, hiring a personal shooting technique coach. Tons of untapped potential, completely unnecessarily.

 

[DEANYOUNGBLOOD17]

Everyone on the planet had him as a top 5 pick... so do not let facts get in the way of your snark

I was there in Buffalo in 2016 on draft day and shook his hand and took a staged PR picture with him an hour or so after he was drafted.

I was there at the pre draft 18 Hilinka tourny in May in Grsnd Forks North Dakota where PUJ dominated his the draft aged peers for Finland.

The debate was do you draft the big all purpose all important # 1 centre in Puj or the generational elite goal scorer Laine 2 nd over all after Toronto takes Mathews…

( answer go with the goal scorer)

After drafting McDavid in 2015 Edmonton drew the short straw in 2016 by following that up by drafting Puj 4th over all….

Also by trading a 1 st for Reinhart in 2015 instead of drafting Kyle Connor to play on McDavid wing.

 

[Ciao]

Puljujarvi has had lots of chances and just isn't good enough. Plain and simple.

It's not for want of opportunity.