Let’s get this out of the way lickity split. Jesse Puljujarvi played his first professional hockey game in nearly seven months as his Karpat club won 3-1 in a Champions Hockey League match vs French club Grenoble. He walked away with one goal, one assist, six shots, and two blocked shots in 15:15 of ice time.
He was slashing through the slot, being a net-front presence, getting himself set up on the left half-wall for multiple one-timers. He’s faster and stronger and it showed in his forechecking (I still maintain he’s the best forechecker the Oilers have… or had I should say). The way he builds up speed through the D-zone and when his defensemen actually give him the puck, it allows him to penetrate the neutral zone and the other team’s blueline with ease.
It wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops though. He did show some rust by misplaying some passes, missing some checks, and getting the puck taken away rushing through the neutral zone, but for the most part, he was as dominant in that environment as he was at the AHL level last season in Bakersfield AND his coach kept him on the same line for more than three shifts. Amazing…
I loved what I saw and I’m jacked to see him smiling again!
Grenoble obviously isn’t NHL caliber, but it’s a start on the road to redemption for Jesse. Next up is SC Bern! I’m assuming that the Swiss club will be a much tougher opponent for Karpat than Grenoble and Oilers fans will be interested to know that Mark Arcobello laces ’em up for Bern. It should be a beauty!
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ANTON BURDASOV
Hearing that Anton Burdasov is in talks with 3 teams. As far as I'm concerned one of them is Edmonton. And that would be the best destination for him. He would be on top-6 and he could use the big shot he has with a supply of playmakers the #oilers have. And they have enough
Burdasov only played in two games during Salavat Yulaev Ufa’s long playoff run due to injuries, but that doesn’t take away from the winger’s great year. The 6-foot-2, 234-pound power forward tied his career high, registering 31 points this year, while upping his aggressive play, going from 18 PIM last year to 114 this season. The biggest knock on Burdasov is his speed, but on the plus side, he does so many things right around the net, whether it be creating havoc around the crease or finding a way to get a shot away from any angle. The Philadelphia Flyers are one of the teams expected to pursue Burdasov over the next few months, and whichever team lands him will add a bit of scoring depth.
Skating a problem eh… That should bode well for an NHL career.
I don’t know how this is a player that is expected to be a top-6 player at the NHL level with his numbers let alone his physical deficiencies. To put it in perspective, last year Nikita Gusev (the guy NJ traded for this summer) had 82pts for SKA last year, Nail Yakupov (former knee-sliding legend) had 23 goals, Jesse Joensuu (Former Oiler) had 19 goals and 18 assists, Mikhail Grigorenko (Former Avalanche) had 17 goals and 35 assists, Linden Vey (former Canuck) had 12 goals and 31 assists, Anton Slepyshev (Former Oiler) had 15 goals and 10 assists, Nikolai Kulemin (former Leaf) had 16 goals and 19 assists… Even Iiro the Hero had 19 goals last year.
I dunno, I’d pass on this guy, but I don’t know everything about him or the relationships involved. There are better players out there in my opinion and to my understanding, he was a linemate of Panarin earlier in their careers, so maybe there’s a reunion in the works there and Edmonton will luck out…
Perhaps he’s the best of the Russian free-agents though, which should say a lot about how Edmonton is viewed by the available NHL free-agents living in North America and maybe a bit about where Holland is shopping.
The one time it’s okay to be a JERK! Grab this shirt while supplies last!Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee!
There it is folks and just as Puljujarvi said it would happen. The former 4th overall pick for the Edmonton Oilers has signed for the year to play for his old Finnish club team, Oulu Karpat.
Nothing like some 1 am Oilers news to get wake you up!
Kärpät on solminut yksivuotisen sopimuksen hyökkääjä Jesse Puljujärven kanssa! 🔥🔥🔥
Jesse has an out in the deal that will allow him to return to the NHL before December 1st. That date is important because if he doesn’t sign with an NHL club before that, he’d be unable to play in the NHL for the entire season.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody as he did state that he’d be choosing where he’d play by September.
I feel like this is the best option for everyone and that’s for a couple of reasons:
It’ll give everyone time to cool off and let cooler heads prevail.
If Puljujarvi is lighting up the SM-Liiga that could bring in better offers and allow the Oilers to get the deal they’ve been looking for since Holland took over. It also might entice Holland to negotiate a better deal with Puljujarvi himself.
And contrary to reports that interest in Puljujarvi is “tepid, at best”, there is interest among at least four Eastern conference teams I’ve been told. I do wonder if GMs are waiting for the dominoes to drop amongst the numerous high-end RFAs that have yet to sign…
However, I can confirm that at least as of yesterday…no such offer has been forthcoming, nor has there ever been a negotiation. And to be fair to Karpat manager Harri Aho, he didn’t say there had been. But it is surely a coincidence that Aho should make any comment at all. After all, Aho’s son Sebastian Aho is property of the Carolina Hurricanes. And the ‘Canes are one of several clubs thought to be interested in Puljujarvi. How about that, hey?
No disrespect to Kurt. I think recently people think that I’ve really been laying into him personally and that’s not the case. He’s only reporting what he’s been told. So if anything, I’m laying into his source. That quote above, it seemed odd to make that proclamation so early in the summer, but hey, things change all of the time don’t they? But the tone over at the CoH towards Jesse has been awfully slanted until very recent.
My feeling is that Mr. Leavins’ quotes have been getting some traction in Europe and I wonder if those in Finland have not taken to kindly to this sort of coverage of one of their native sons.
“If” it seemed more likely that Jesse Puljujarvi could find a landing spot in Europe, then that would conceivably make it harder for Oilers G.M. Ken Holland to wait on a trade that holds a greater return for his club.
By this sentiment, the pressure is on Oilers GM Ken Holland?
I don’t believe that to be the case at all. As I said earlier, there are a few scenarios that might facilitate a trade, but from those sources that I’ve talked to on both sides of the Atlantic, Jesse is as happy to play in Finland as he would to play in North America. He’d obviously like to be showing what he can do in the NHL, but he’s fine waiting things out until a situation he deems acceptable appears.
The timing of both story and comments are more than curious. What’s that called again, when you pretend to hold better cards in your hand than you actually have?
Oh my, how the tables have turned after only one hand has been played.
The one time it’s okay to be a JERK! Grab this shirt while supplies last!Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee!
I am so blessed to have the global friends that I do. When overseas interviews are published in another language, they come to my rescue so that I don’t fall victim to Google Translate. To those who’ve lent a helping hand over the years, thank you!
According to an interview with Svenska,yle.fi, Jesse Puljujarvi has said that September will be when he decides where he’ll be playing in 2019/20. There’s some speculation that timing is tied to the final examination due on his surgically repaired hips.
I’m surprised nobody has found this article as it’s around 3 weeks old.
The hips feel great. He’s not worried and he trusts his agent and the process.
– Some people like to say that the agent works for the player, but is that really the case for really young players who have no idea how to navigate the waters they jump into when they begin their NHL careers? What if Holland went to Lehto and said they’ll work something out if he could get Jesse to come back and Lehto agreed that was best? If Pulju really trusts his agent, he’d probably do that, right?
Still would prefer a fresh start with another club because he believes if he gets the chance, he can still play in the NHL.
– I think this is fair too. Ask yourself, when’s the last time a WJHC MVP flopped? It’s a rare occurrence. Some might be shocked when they see another NHL team playing Jesse to his strengths, not forcing him to be the next Tomas Holmstrom and actually passing the puck to him when he calls for it as he drives through the neutral zone.
Some mention of losing confidence in Edmonton and intimates that he doesn’t feel that much will change if he returns to the Oilers.
– As I’ve said time and time again, it’s not the new coach and the new GM that is the problem… I truly feel It’s the players Jesse would be playing with in the Oilers top-6 that is driving this request.
He’s still determined to play in North America this season.
He hasn’t been following the media coverage coming out of North America.
– That’s got to be tough when the news is making its way into Finnish publications now.
Lehto says that the issue of Puljujarvi began last season.
– If you recall, there was a meeting in Nashville between the Oilers brass and Markus Lehto last year, shortly before Ryan Rishaug said the Oilers were open to trading him. Maybe Chiarelli and Nicholson were on board with trading Jesse at that time? This sort of brings us to Lowetide’s theory that the agent and the player were (are) aware of some offers and are trying to push things through and I don’t mind that idea but perhaps Ken Holland has slammed the brakes on any potential deals that were previously negotiated.
The value of Puljujarvi has come up recently and I’m of the opinion that at minimum, he’s a 30pt winger right now. He could top 40pts if he was dealt to the right team. Consider that he scored 20pts as a 19-year-old two years ago in 60-ish games, surely 30pts isn’t out of the question when he’s completely healthy, two years older and stronger, and mentally in the right frame of mind.
Imagine if he went to the Hurricanes and his center was longtime friend Sebastian Aho and his left winger was fellow countryman Teuvo Teravainen or Nino Niederreiter. You can imagine there’d be a bit more understanding on the ice with those players and if that’s not an ideal situation, what is?
I’ve heard from a source in Finland that on the outside Jesse seems as happy as could be, but on the inside he’s furious. And when he’s like that it means he’s motivated and folks had better watch out. For those of you that watched him play in Bakersfield last season for that short stint, you’d know what I’m talking about.
So we wait. Jesse will continue to rehab and train in Oulu and NHL teams will be getting together in September and slowly rosters will start to take shape over the course of the month. It’s not out of the ordinary for there to be some pre-season trades, but if I’m being completely honest, I won’t be holding my breath awaiting news of a Puljujarvi trade because Mr. Holland cannot afford to lose this trade.
Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee!Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!
There are some murmurs out of the East that Montreal has some interest in our disgruntled Finnish man-child, Jesse Puljujarvi. Now, my French is spotty at best and I’m not going to attempt to use the same method that the old boys in Edmonton used last week with Pulju’s quotes, I’m going to dig WAY back in my headbone and simply use the gr.4-9 French class knowledge I haven’t forgotten and my powers of deduction to translate the quote below. If I’m wrong, I’m sure you’ll be first to let me know, right?
EXCLUSIF: Le #CH a bel et bien démontré de l’intérêt envers Jesse Puljujarvi. Le dossier ne serait pas clos même si Puljujarvi a déjà mentionné qu’il préférerait poursuivre sa carrière aux USA. "Préférer” ne veut pas dire fermer la porte au Canada. À suivre… #Habs#Canadiens
According to the gentleman above, the Montreal Canadiens have interest in Puljujarvi and then something about there being some talk about Jesse wanting to continue his career in the USA but not shutting the door on another Canadian team. If you click on the tweet and read the thread, Mr. Beaudoin goes on to say that given the Finnish presence (Kotkaniemi, Lehkonen, and Armia) on the Habs, that might be something that would appeal to Pulju and that there’s room in the Habs’ top-6 on the right side.
To my knowledge, Beaudoin is an independent writer out of Montreal who gets the odd break from time to time. A Google search found that he’s had work posted on various Canadiens blogs and TSN’s sister station RDS.ca.
Elliotte Friedman was the one who I believe hinted that Puljujarvi didn’t want to go to a Canadian market, but that’s since been corrected. He said in his most recent media appearance that his goal is to play in North America this season. Last I checked, Canada is still in North America. So whoever might be saying that he won’t play in Canada, is wrong.
I do believe Montreal has had interest in Puljujarvi well before his trade request went public. But I’m not 100% sold that they need JP as much as Beaudoin is claiming. No doubt, they’d love to upgrade their right-wing, but I feel like they could get by with who they have there at this present time (Brendan Gallagher, Artturi Lehkonen, Jordan Weal, and Joel Armia).
My feeling is that IF a trade did go down between Montreal and Edmonton, the Oilers would have interest in Lehkonen but my spidey-sense tells me that maybe Ken Holland would try to target Jonathan Drouin given the Habs have Tomas Tatar and the emerging Ryan Poehling coming along. Drouin isn’t progressing into the high-end forward that most prognosticated him to be when he was drafted (weird, I’ve heard that one before.) and it wouldn’t shock me if he was available to the right GM. That’d be a massive addition to the Oilers top-6 but it’d cost a lot more than Puljujarvi. I’d go as far as to say that one of Darnell Nurse or Oscar Klefbom would have to be included in that sort of deal.
Just as an aside, I like Lehkonen quite a bit. He’s young (24) and skilled, he’s quick, he’s positionally fluid, he scores around 30pts a year, but he’s always in trade rumors out of Montreal. I believe he’s really undervalued by Marc Bergevin and the Oilers should be looking to pick him up and perhaps Charles Hudon as well. They’re excellent middle-6 options I reckon and much better than what the Oilers have on the farm right now in Joe Gambardella, Patrick Russell, and Cooper Marody.
If you were Oilers GM, how would you navigate a deal with the Habs? Would you simply try to grab a player like Lehkonen and be done with this whole saga or would you swing for the fences and try for Drouin? Let us know in the comments below!
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Is Edmonton Really Puljujarvi’s Best Option?
Something that irritates me when listening to Oilers talk radio is this constant narrative that the only place in the entire NHL that Jesse has a good opportunity to play in the top-6 is in Edmonton. That’s a crock of shit and something you’d only hear from delusional Oilers fans. I’d love for him to continue his career in Edmonton because the roster does have an open spot ready for him, but I’m not thick enough to believe there aren’t other places with the same opportunities for the former World Junior Hockey Championship MVP.
I mean has anybody looked at Boston’s right-wing depth chart? It’s David Pastrnak, two AHLers, and the American version of Milan Lucic. They’ve got NOBODY… Nobody on the roster and nobody on the farm. Zach Senyshyn? Please… Plus, they’ve been interested in Puljujarvi as long as, or longer than, the Habs.
Problem with Boston is, who would you consider in return for Puljujarvi that they’d be willing to give up? I know one guy but it’d probably be a cold day in hell before they moved him… John Beecher. That kid is going to be a BEAST!
But let’s move on from Boston to another Eastern Conference team, the Ottawa Senators. Their RW depth chart goes thusly,
Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, Bobby Ryan, Max Veronneau, and Anthony Duclair.
Not pretty folks. Puljujarvi would slide into that group and easily be one of the better players. I think I could find a player or two from the Sens (*Cough* Pageau *Cough*) that would fit into the Oilers plans, don’t you?
That’s two teams in addition to Edmonton and Montreal that could use Pulju. How about one more?
The San Jose Sharks have Kevin Labanc, Melker Karlsson, Dylan Gambrell, and Johnny Brodzinksi penciled in at right-wing. Are you telling me that Gambrell and Brodzinksi are even in the same universe as a fully healthy Jesse Puljujarvi? If you are, maybe stop huffing glue and come back to reality.
My only issue with trading with San Jose is the inter-divisional rivalry and they don’t really have a lot that I like and they’d be willing to let go of. In fact, the only player I’d probably like is Labanc and he’s not going anywhere. Man, could you imagine Doug Wilson trading him after making that team-friendly deal (wink, wink) with Labanc? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Labanc signed for a million dollars for the year and the speculation is that after January, I believe, the Sharks will extend him and give him the money he should have received this past summer.
That’s not the point though, I’m trying to present the notion that Edmonton isn’t the only team in the NHL where Jesse would be in a good spot.
If you’re wondering where I’m getting my depth chart info from, Dobber’s Fantasy Guide is a wonderful resource for this sort of stuff and it’s CHEAP. They’re not paying me for the plug, I’m just letting you know where you can fact-check me if you want to.
My feeling is that Tampa, Carolina, and the Rangers are still interested in Pulju, but some roster moves still have to be made in order to open things up. Either way, I hope that Jesse finds himself a team that truly values him as a human, first and foremost, then as a player and he can flourish in the manner he should’ve in Edmonton. How fitting for some would it be if he went to the Hurricanes and became a “Jerk”?
Patrick Marleau
Friend of former Edmonton Oiler Alex Petrovic, Josh Marshall, put out a tweet yesterday that said the Oilers and Marleau were speaking and that there’s mutual interest. This was cryptically confirmed by Cult of Hockey writer Kurt Leavins and more or less so by Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now.
Marshall has been on and off in the past with his proclamations but I get the feeling that he’s more “on” than “off” on this one given the follow up comments from Leavins and Stauffer.
On Twitter, I said that I was pretty skeptical of signing a player like this, but then I dove into his numbers a little bit and I think I’d be okay with the Oilers signing him. He’s still capable of scoring 15-20 goals and chipping in with 15-20 assists. Playing him 15 minutes a night doesn’t seem to look like a problem either. To add to that, I’d absolutely love the leadership he’d bring to that locker room. To me, it’s clear as day how desperately it is needed.
That being said, there are some things that concern me.
His underlying numbers are declining at an increasing rate. Just looking at 2017/18 to 2018/19, he’s going downhill.
Yikes. It went so poorly for Marleau last season that Babcock went from starting him in the offensive zone around 50% of the time in 2017/18 to 60% of the time last year. So how would he be utilized in Edmonton if the Oilers were to sign him? Second unit PP and on a soft-minute 3rd line? Forget about the PK, he hasn’t featured regularly on one of those since ’15/16 and while he’s capable of winning a faceoff now and then, it’s not his deal. Last season he took 203 draws and won a shade over half.
But at the end of the day, he still managed to score 16 goals and 37 points for the Maple Leafs.
So what would the forward lineup look like with Old Man Marleau in it?
That leaves Gagner, Cave, Brodziak, Jurco (and obviously Puljujarvi but let’s leave him out of this exercise for now) on the outside looking in and you can’t have four guys on the taxi squad. At least two of those players would have to go to the minors and through waivers to get there and even if they arrived in Bakersfield, where would they play?
This is without adding any of the surplus players on the big club. Ostap Safin and Nolan Vesey are the only guys I could see getting sacrificed right now, you? Maybe Haas or Nygard don’t make it and head back to Europe. I’m not sure.
If you’re Ken Holland, do you blow the remainder of your budget on this Marleau? It’s best to have more than enough than not in most cases, but it’s hard to see how the Oilers could get everyone the adequate amount of ice-time if there are too many players and that leaves me wondering if a pre-season deal might be made to relieve some of the weight on this roster.
My wish is if that is the case, that they grab a really good third-line center and be done with it. Get the guy they want and move on. If that’s Pageau, so be it. But make sure it’s the right man so they aren’t re-visiting this year after year.
What do you think? Let us know down below!
Before we part ways, just a big shout out to all the fans of Beer League Heroes over at HF Boards! You guys are awesome! Don’t forget to pick up a shirt when you’ve got a free moment! OH, and just because I love you so much, I did up a coupon code but it’s only for the HF Boards guys who’ve been showing so much love lately. Click here to get your discount!
I thought it’s about time to comment on the week’s Jesse Puljujarvi drama as yesterday it finally made its way to the radio and I hadn’t posted anything in a week or so. This one has me fired up though.
The erroneous Jesse Puljujarvi quote that is driving the Edmonton media mad and making its way around the hockey world is this one,
“I want a team where I get a place in one of the first two lines and where I get to play for 15 minutes per game,” Puljujärvi said, via Google Translate, in an interview with Finnish publication Sporten. “Then I could show what I’m going for. That is my main goal.” (source)
And the following replies from some of the more “respected” members of the Edmonton media replied thusly,
If only there was a team out there somewhere with a new head coach, new GM, lots of openings on the wing and an urgent need for Puljujarvi to succeed. https://t.co/AsxaMAKZJC
Have you ever seen a quote from Puljujarvi that either Matheson or Tychkowski has obtained personally?
Here’s the problem, they don’t know the language and even the journalists who do know the language are translating it in a manner to benefit their headline instead of reporting what’s actually being said.
I’m very lucky in that I’ve got some wonderful Finns and others who are fluent in Finnish who follow me that can help me to translate things in their proper context and this is what I was told with regards to that quote,
Jesse actually said this, ”I think if i get the chance, I can show what I have and can do.”
That’s very different from the quote at the top of this post, right? See, I’ve been told that Finnish can be very literal and using Google translate is a dodgy proposition.
The article on TSN (Bardown) was done using Google Translate. Kinda lazy and unprofessional in my opinion. The only thing JP actually said was that his goal was to become a top-six forward. That’s it.
That’s another thing. We have professional journalists who know better than to run with a quote translated by a machine but THEY DON’T CARE. They just want to run this kid out of town. Every week there’s a new shot at Jesse.
Last week it was that he skipped his English lessons, right? Well did he skip all of them, a few of them, or just one of them? Is it possible he forgot about a class or two? Was the absence OK’d by the team, was he under the weather, or maybe did he just need some time off and couldn’t contact the necessary person responsible for the class? When were the classes organized, before or after the family liaison was let go due to budget cutbacks? Were the Oilers using an actual tutor or just a relative/friend of someone on staff?
You can’t say that shit and not offer more concrete details without looking like you’ve got it out for the player. The other thing is, nobody is willing to ask those questions. But shouldn’t there be at least one person in the media that would be willing to report the other side of the story?
I’ll say this, keeping the focus on Jesse sure has taken it off of Connor and his rehab on that buggered up knee…
What happened to all the stories about Jesse being the first on/last off and working with Mikko Koskinen after practice? Or Jesse being a good chap by playing some outdoor puck with the local kids?
That’s all been forgotten because he’s the devil now, right?…
I know yesterday Bob Stauffer compared Pulju’s language conundrum to Andrej Sekera’s wife and how when Sekera signed in Edmonton she enrolled at the University of Alberta to learn English.
Is that an apples to apples comparison though? It’s not really, is it? A grown woman who’s married isn’t a comparable for an 18-year-old male. I mean I don’t know Rej’s wife, is she a teenager too? I’m surprised someone in the Edmonton media didn’t get a hold of that information and wonder why someone who’s lived in North America for as long as she assumably has, is unable to speak the language and needs courses.
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It’s not right and anybody that knows anything about learning a second language knows that it takes YEARS to get moderately proficient. If you’re doing it part-time only a few times a week, it takes even longer. So how about once a week or less, how long do you think it would take then? In Jesse’s case, his advantage would be that he’s in an English environment almost all of the time and is forced to apply what he’s learned, but maybe the tutor that was helping him wasn’t effective. We don’t know if the team was working with the tutor with regards to the lesson plans either. The reason I say that is that it’d be incredibly helpful if what he was being taught dovetailed with the daily language that was being spoken to him at “work”.
But I wouldn’t expect a born and bred Albertan who’s never lived aboard to really understand that.
Anyways, Jesse’s camp addressed those allegations about his English and admitted that language was a problem in the first year but in years two and three, it wasn’t. Even players like Drake Caggiula and Matt Benning spoke to Jesse’s English ability.
“His first year, he barely spoke any English. It makes it really hard to understand what kind of person he is,” Caggiula said. “Last year his English was night-and-day different, but he was still coming out of his shell. He was comfortable with English, but didn’t know when or how to say things.”
“Now? He’ll chirp guys back, and fire back at guys. It’s starting to get pretty funny. His true colours are coming out nicely.”
I know what you’re thinking, “If language wasn’t a problem, then what was his deal? Did he simply stop listening?”
Well, that’s a possibility, but I’d like to point out that Jesse had a pretty decent season in his second year and he was hurt or being ignored in his third. Not to mention his time spent in the AHL. A place where the language problem didn’t seem to be an issue. It’s as if the Oilers might have had a couple of coaches who were under a lot of pressure to get the team into the playoffs and simply didn’t have time to set aside for Jesse.
With all of that being said, the trade demand still remains. But what’s funny here is that guys like Tychkowski and Matheson, they don’t get it. They think this is all about a different coaching staff, a new GM, and that possible open spot on the Oilers roster.
“Although the Oilers have a new well-respected GM and a new coach, the team is still pretty much the same,” Lehto shared in July, as translated by the Edmonton Journal. “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit. This seems to be the case here. Nothing radical about it.”
Those pratts haven’t yet put together that the request out has nothing to do with Tippett and Holland, it has to do with the players Jesse would be playing with in the top-6 in Edmonton… “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit”… Jesus Christ, you’d think these guys that have been following the game for as long as they have would deduce that the problem is McDavid and Draisaitl. Maybe they have and they just refuse to say it or maybe just don’t believe it, but you’d have to be pretty thick to go with the latter.
My guess is that he’s been hurt by those guys. He looked up to them and really wanted to play with them but they went behind is back (allegedly, if you believe the Edmonton media) and told the coach they didn’t want to play with him and he found out. Ouch! That’s tough.
And so, if Jesse feels he can’t play with two of the best players in the game, then that’s on him. He’s tired of how he’s been treated by the organization and now the city’s media and he’d like to be moved on. Can you blame him?
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The Lowetide Theory
Blue sky thinking about the latest Jesse Puljujarvi verbal. It makes the news once a week, same side each time, no new material. The player side has little to no power, contract writes itself, all these updates do is poison the water hole for JP. Agent is a veteran at negotiation, and is doing things he sees as being beneficial to his client. That’s his job.
Now, with that as the backdrop, why would the agent/player have weekly drops of the same news story? Making Oilers fans angry can’t be the goal and calling out Ken Holland makes zero sense because he just arrived. Why then the weekly news drops?
The ONLY thing I can think of is that the player and agent are aware of an offer, and this pressure is designed to pressure Edmonton by poisoning JP’s situation in the city. Otherwise you’re just wasting time, and agents like this one don’t do anything for no reason. So, is there a deal, to say Carolina, Holland doesn’t like but everyone else does like? It would make all of the elements of the JP side make sense. Thoughts?
I think that’s a believable pontification. As for the weekly drops, isn’t that what’s happening at the Cult of Hockey? Why would they be publishing those “takes” on a weekly basis? There’s always something about Jesse not being well-liked or the above about the English lessons. Is it possible that Pulju’s camp is tired of the misinformation being put out there? His comments about his play have been self-critical (if you get the correct translation).
But if, as LT says, Jesse’s camp is aware of a deal sitting on the table and they want to pressure Holland to do something, this could be one way of getting a trade done so Jesse can get to a training camp on time.
You know what’s going to happen if he gets traded right? He’s a year older, he’s healthy, and he’s motivated… He’s going to make the Oilers and everyone who’s taking shots at him look awfully foolish. In the event he isn’t traded and does play in Europe, that might be the best thing for everyone. From fan to journalist to agent to player to GM, a cooling-off period might just benefit all parties involved.
I just hope Oilers fans treat Derick Brassard similarily knowing he’s done the same thing in the past… But they won’t because he’s not criticizing the Oilers.
An interesting find from Copper and Blue contributor, Jeff Chapman here,
I wonder how he’s going to do with 12 minutes a night?
If you haven’t heard, Cooper Marody was on Jason Gregor’s show yesterday and I found his interview interesting,
These quotes aren't that different than what Puljujarvi is getting raked over the coals for… Both believe they can be top-6 players and just want an opportunity. Where's the outrage when the NA kid says it?
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 21, 2019
Most folks who replied to me used the Google Translate quote as their basis for argument. That’s too bad.
So what you’re telling me is that even though the team asked Marody to work on his quickness and his foot speed over the off-season, he thought, “Nah. That’s not my game. I think I’ll keep doing what’s been working for me so far.”? So Cooper knows better than the NHL staff that are trying to develop him? To me, THAT seems kind of entitled. Doesn’t it? But he’s a cerebral player and obviously that trumps being able to skate at an NHL level…
Marody says he’s been working on his skating every year, he’s been studying Zetterberg and Datsyuk for his entire life, but his skating is still not where it’s supposed to be… He says that the people who criticize his skating haven’t watched him play… But the people that I talk to ARE the ones who are watching him and very closely I might add.
Look, there’s a reason Marody didn’t stick in Edmonton when he was up. He’s not fast enough. He’s sure got the hands but at the NHL level his boots are too slow, he’s a perimeter player, and he gets taken out of games by sheer force. He’s not in that great of shape I’ve heard as well. That could very well change come next month when the rookie camp gets going and let’s be honest, he’s going to look outstanding there, so we shouldn’t be using that to make any judgments; but all I’m saying is that he’s got a ways to go before he should be sluffing off mandates from his bosses.
Now, if you listen to the kid, you’d swear he was speaking at a network marketing event selling ketchup popsicles to the white glove gang. He’s VERY sure of himself and I think that might bite him in the ass down the road. Josh Ho-Sang comes to mind in that regard and notice how quiet he’s become lately.
Look at the mountains that Marody is going to have to climb to get onto the Oilers roster.
Connor McDavid
Leon Draisaitl
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Derick Brassard*
Jujhar Khaira
Kyle Brodziak
Cooper Marody
*Not yet confirmed officially
With Edmonton reportedly signing Derick Brassard, that puts Marody well down the depth chart. At what point does his frustration boil over? A guy that confident in his abilities surely wouldn’t sit quietly as he dominates the AHL, right? Maybe he’d feel that he deserves a bit more than he’s being offered? Maybe he’d just say screw it and go country singer full-time?
I dunno folks. I don’t think it’s fair that Marody can say he doesn’t need to focus on a glaring deficiency in his game while Puljujarvi is getting shat on daily. I’m not sure I’m even hoping for Puljujarvi to change his mind at this point because I’m afraid of how he’s going to get treated if he returns.
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