Speculation: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS JESSE PULJUJARVI?

[Khelandros]

With all the free time Sullivan has given him, I was wondering what he could be up to.

Post your wildest speculations and photoshops.

Click to read more...

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Jokes aside, I heard from someone who knows him that he's seriously considering retirement.

 

[Fordy]

he is recovering, sullivan is carefully and personally nursing him back to health

 

[Empoleon8771]

He pulled a Zohorna: put up a lot of points to start (5 points in 6 games) and then quickly faded away offensively (3 points in 15 games). It just seems like Sullivan jumped on it far faster than he did with Zohorna.

Zohorna got until the end of December being useless before Sullivan finally pulled the trigger, Puljujarvi didn't even make it until Thanksgiving before Sullivan gave up on him. Puljujarvi was better than Zohorna but maybe having better alternatives this year could also be a factor here.

 

[Ulf5]

 

[Mr. T]

Sullivan has been waterboarding him in that reverse-Fountain of Youth

 

[Pancakes]

He pulled a Zohorna: put up a lot of points to start (5 points in 6 games) and then quickly faded away offensively (3 points in 15 games). It just seems like Sullivan jumped on it far faster than he did with Zohorna.

Zohorna got until the end of December being useless before Sullivan finally pulled the trigger, Puljujarvi didn't even make it until Thanksgiving before Sullivan gave up on him. Puljujarvi was better than Zohorna but maybe having better alternatives this year could also be a factor here.

Not sure who you play him over either. Nieto sucks but they've been playing Nieto on LW and Jesse is more of a rw.

Maybe you play him over Acciari but Acciari pks.

I wouldn't play him over Tomasino.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Not sure who you play him over either. Nieto sucks but they've been playing Nieto on LW and Jesse is more of a rw.

Maybe you play him over Acciari but Acciari pks.

I wouldn't play him over Tomasino.

Isn't DOC goalless in 29? Nieto or Acciari work too. Trade/waive/demote the trash. Bring back accountability.
If Hayes is gonna be used like this you can send him down too and use the 1.2M on someone younger.

I'd try:
Rakell-Sid-Rust
Tomasino-Malkin-Puljujarvi
Bunting-Lizotte-Glass
Beauvillier-Broz-Bemstrom

Mix and match based on chemistry.
Koivunen + Katchouk as spares when someone above sucks. We got the cap space to carry 14F since trading Eller.

Lizotte and Glass are our best PK'ers. DOC/Nieto/Acciari are below them at it, and their play on the PK is all they bring to the table now.
Their spots aren't justified. They can go.

What's the point in acquiring so much Wilkes depth if we're not gonna use them?

 

[Empoleon8771]

If you want to "bring back accountability", how does that involve playing Puljujarvi with his 3 points in his last 15 games on L2? Especially when Bunting has been very good (15 points in 22 games) after a really bad start and he's on L3 in this setup. [mod]

Not sure who you play him over either. Nieto sucks but they've been playing Nieto on LW and Jesse is more of a rw.

Maybe you play him over Acciari but Acciari pks.

I wouldn't play him over Tomasino.

There really isn't much of a spot for him. The top-9 wingers they have above him (Rakell, Rust, Bunting, Tomasino, O'Connor and Beauvillier) should all be playing above him. Sure play him above Nieto I guess but is Nieto even playing when this team is healthy at this point?

If I could pick the lines right now, I'd be running with:

Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Tomasino
Beauvillier-Lizotte-Glass
O'Connor-Ponomarev-Puljujarvi

But that's already really similar to what they're running with, so it's really hard to get too huffy about the lineup decisions they're making. I don't dislike Puljujarvi but he's not good enough for me to particularly care if he's playing over whatever other non-factor they're playing on L4 in place of him.

I also don't think Acciari has been terrible this year so I wouldn't mind him staying in the lineup. I'd prefer to trade him, but scratching him isn't exactly a productive way to see him get traded.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Isn't DOC goalless in 29? Nieto or Acciari work too. Trade/waive/demote the trash. Bring back accountability.
If Hayes is gonna be used like this you can send him down too and use the 1.2M on someone younger.

I'd try:
Rakell-Sid-Rust
Tomasino-Malkin-Puljujarvi
Bunting-Lizotte-Glass
Beauvillier-Broz-Bemstrom

Mix and match based on chemistry.
Koivunen + Katchouk as spares when someone above sucks. We got the cap space to carry 14F since trading Eller.

Lizotte and Glass are our best PK'ers. DOC/Nieto/Acciari are below them at it, and their play on the PK is all they bring to the table now.
Their spots aren't justified. They can go.

What's the point in acquiring so much Wilkes depth if we're not gonna use them?

Emil Bemstrom and Boris Katchouk have extensive NHL experience. Katchouk is 26 and has played 176 NHL games; Bemstrom is 25 and played 238 NHL games. They are who they are. They're fringe players who play well in the AHL but can't stick in the NHL.

Plus, Katchouk doesn't have an NHL contract. He's an AHL signing, and the Pens are at the contract limit or close to it. That's why there was speculation he could be traded at the time of the POJ deal, even though it turned out that he was just banged up.

Broz isn't ready. He's in his first year as a pro. Let him develop by playing all situations in the AHL. Same with Koivunen. Let them keep enjoying success instead of giving them 10 minutes a night or scratching them.

The most important thing about properly developing players is to bring them up when they're ready, not just because you don't like the current crop of NHL players.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Emil Bemstrom and Boris Katchouk have extensive NHL experience. Katchouk is 26 and has played 176 NHL games; Bemstrom is 25 and played 238 NHL games. They are who they are. They're fringe players who play well in the AHL but can't stick in the NHL.

Plus, Katchouk doesn't have an NHL contract. He's an AHL signing, and the Pens are at the contract limit or close to it. That's why there was speculation he could be traded at the time of the POJ deal, even though it turned out that he was just banged up.

Broz isn't ready. He's in his first year as a pro. Let him develop by playing all situations in the AHL. Same with Koivunen. Let them keep enjoying success instead of giving them 10 minutes a night or scratching them.

The most important thing about properly developing players is to bring them up when they're ready, not just because you don't like the current crop of NHL players.

There's a good chance they would be more useful than current Nieto and Acciari, even if by a small margin. That bar is incredibly low. Nieto and Acciari aren't playing at an NHL-worthy level. Closer to L3 Wilkes level.
Plus I believe it's important for an organization to reward strong play, so it sends a message to the players that training and performance matters. If the players begin doubting that, it will hurt the mentality down in Wilkes and in training camps.
Bemstrom should have earned the call by now. It's not like L4 was cooking and there's no room for him.

We don't know if Broz can't hang at this level. That's a guess. I'd like to confirm that with my own eyes.
If he sucks he can be sent back down in a month. It's no big deal. He's waivers exempt. Plus he's 22, not 18. He might be fine.

We can drop a contract by trading DOC or Acciari. No problem.

I don't see what there is to fear by trying guys. We're not gonna lose any quality on waivers. and we're not gonna destroy anyone's development by giving them a month with the big club. If anything it will help them understand how things are.
On the flip side, it's possible we miss the playoffs by a few points again due to sticking stubbornly to worthless grinders.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

There's a good chance they would be more useful than current Nieto and Acciari, even if by a small margin. That bar is incredibly low. Nieto and Acciari aren't playing at an NHL-worthy level. Closer to L3 Wilkes level.
Plus I believe it's important for an organization to reward strong play, so it sends a message to the players that training and performance matters. If the players begin doubting that, it will hurt the mentality down in Wilkes and in training camps.
Bemstrom should have earned the call by now. It's not like L4 was cooking and there's no room for him.

We don't know if Broz can't hang at this level. That's a guess. I'd like to confirm that with my own eyes.
If he sucks he can be sent back down in a month. It's no big deal. He's waivers exempt. Plus he's 22, not 18. He might be fine.

We can drop a contract by trading DOC or Acciari. No problem.

I don't see what there is to fear by trying guys. We're not gonna lose any quality on waivers. and we're not gonna destroy anyone's development by giving them a month with the big club. If anything it will help them understand how things are.
On the flip side, it's possible we miss the playoffs by a few points again due to sticking stubbornly to worthless grinders.

If Acciari is as bad as you contend he is, who would want to trade for him? Same with DOC?

Boris Katchouk is the Canadian Radim Zohorna. He's just a guy.

If Poulin was playing well, if Broz was closer to being ready, if McGroarty was playing well, then you'd have an argument.

It is in the best interest for all of the young forwards to continue playing in WBS. If there is a huge selloff at the deadline, maybe you consider bringing a few up for the final six weeks.

This is about long-term development. The performance of the NHL squad and the players on it should have zero impact on whether any significant forward from WBS gets recalled.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

If Acciari is as bad as you contend he is, who would want to trade for him? Same with DOC?

DOC may improve elsewhere. He was pretty decent last season. It's not happening here though.
An old school GM that likes guys with an edge or veteran presence might want Acciari.
It's unwise to assume GMs will always make logical choices. Drury f***ed up with Kakko and Verbeek blew it with Trouba very recently.

Boris Katchouk is the Canadian Radim Zohorna. He's just a guy.

Oh okay. So a 1.81 5v5 P/P60 player for us with solid corsi and defensive metrics? Is that supposed to be a turn-off?
I'll take that over three guys who are below 1.10 and heavily entrenched in the minuses.
It's so weird how this board uses him of all fringe players as the poster boy for milquetoast play. We have had so many more fitting candidates...