Just before we get started here, the 2019 NHL entry draft is coming and we’re ramping up the coverage in the final stretch. Please feel free to click on the link below if you’re curious about who the Oilers might pick this year.
Edmonton Oilers: Drafting with The Future Considerations Draft Guide
This morning, Dan Tencer and Ryan Rishaug were talking about this whole Jesse Puljujarvi situation and the future of this player in Edmonton. A lot of what was said was fair and then Rishaug dropped the locker room problems bomb. I’ll transcribe it below but I want to first off say that Rishaug DID NOT say there were problems in the room, only that is reasonable to assume there are given the agent still wants the player out of Edmonton.
I’ve always been told that Jesse really likes it in Edmonton as it reminds him of his home in Oulu, Finland. He likes the people in Edmonton, he likes walking around the city and playing shinny with the kids on the outdoor rinks there… On the other hand, I have also heard that he’s had trouble assimilating in that dressing room and the guys at the top of that power pyramid are mostly responsible for that. You can come to your own conclusions as to who you think that might be.
As for the players that he has become friends with, they’ve been the outsiders of the team. Matt Benning, Milan Lucic, Drake Caggiula, Ryan Strome, and Ty Rattie were all members of the Oilers that took him in. Not to mention Mikko Koskinen.
I don’t reckon any of those players will be on the Oilers next season, by the way, leaving Puljujarvi with even fewer friends in the room.
**Just an aside, Rishaug had quite the brainfart on the Jason Gregor Show yesterday when he said (I’m paraphrasing) that he thought Mikko Koskinen’s “poor season” was a result of having to babysit Puljujarvi… Yikes…**
So here is the transcription of what Rishaug said on Nielson’s show this morning,
What can we read into the fact that there is a new coach and a new manager and there’s STILL the idea from the agent is that it’s better if he moves on. Right? That tells you there’s problems in the room. That it’s not a comfortable situation for him and that it goes just beyond opportunity on the ice and the way the organization has handled the past three years. That tells you there are issues and I’m not saying that anybody in the Oiler room has caused problems, I’m not saying I know this to be true, I’m saying it’s reasonable to assume that by them STILL wanting out even with a new coach coming in and with a new manager and the team is desperate for skilled wingers and probably one of the best options for a skilled winger to get opportunity in the league right now, he still wants out? It’s reasonable to assume there’s issues happening in the room. That his acclimation to the locker room, his ability to gel and bond with this group of teammates, the way things have played out. There has to be more to it based on the fact that he still wants out at this point. I’m not blaming anybody in the room, I’m just saying it’s a natural deduction.
The Rishaug/Puljujarvi part starts around the 17:50 mark and I just also want to point out that Rishaug is in favor of keeping Jesse on the team and see what he can do under the new coaching/management.
My thoughts are that, if this locker room drama is true (and I believe it to be), maybe everybody in the room should be sat down and told to cut out the middle school bullshit and reminded of what that locker room was like before Connor arrived (and for his rookie season). Plenty of ex-Oilers have spoken to it. If they don’t get over themselves and start to appreciate what they have in that locker room, the playoff-less seasons will continue.
I reckon if Holland can bring in some good strong character guys who can also put the puck in the net, that’ll break up the cliques. Maybe bring in a Finn or two if they plan on keeping Pulju to help him out a bit. We know Holland likes his vets, so you have to wonder how a Joonas Donskoi or Rasmus Ristolainen would help out?
And for Jesse, maybe his agent has to sit him down and tell him to grow up a bit. We don’t always work with the people we like and not everyone is going to be nice to us all of the time. He’s got to simply go out, put a brave face on, and do what he does best and not worry about how others see him or even treat him, because if he doesn’t, he’ll be back in Finland before he knows it and the NHL will be a distant memory.
Egos…
