Edmonton Oilers Talk: “There is a list of teams that are actively interested in him…”

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I Wish I Had Jesse’s Game

Puljujarvi is doing a lot of things right. He is harder on the puck and on the forecheck in the offensive zone. He creates space and opportunities around the net. He makes the people he plays with, like McDavid, better.
There are a lot of positive components to his game. The analytics guys have numbers to show it. Puljujarvi just hasn’t been able to add to the 13 goals he’s scored.
The best thing for Puljujarvi, who isn’t yet into double-digits in his career shooting percentage, would be to put something in the net and get unstuck from Unlucky 13. The sooner the better.

BLH’s Thoughts: Here’s a fun fact for you, Jesse Puljujarvi has more goals than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins…

The Oilers would do themselves a massive favor by betting on this young man right now because someday he’s going to find his scoring touch and his value is going to skyrocket.

That said, I get the feeling there’s some trepidation coming from the organization with regards to any sort of mid-to-long term commitment. I just don’t see how moving away from Jesse would benefit the club aside from maybe finding a lateral move to make.

What annoys me now is all of the folks coming out of the woodwork to put their support behind Pulju after the abuse he took during his time in Finland. I said every year before he left that he was the team’s best forechecker and voila! That still holds true today and now he’s grown into his body and his skating is where it should be.

I think what some of these folks who are pissing all over him for not finishing forget is that Jesse had lots of games like this in Finland where he’d be a bull in a china shop but posted goose eggs in goals and assists on the stat sheet. He did the same thing in Bakersfield when he was there too and when he finds his scoring touch, he will be unstoppable.

What I’m a tad concerned with is that Connor could be losing patience with his lack of finishing and if Evander Kane wasn’t scoring, the noise around JP would deafening.

My personal feeling and the advice I’d give Jesse is that he’s got to cut out these big clappers from the top of the circle. I love watching them and Lord knows how good it feels to wind up big and lean into one, but the goalies are too good in the NHL. Puljujarvi needs to grab that puck, bear down and drive the net. He’s big enough, he’s strong enough, and gosh darnit, people like him (I’m guessing only a handful of folks will get that reference).

Lastly, how many first line RWs get ZERO special teams TOI? McLellan, Hitchcock, and now Woodcroft refuse to put Jesse on the PP or the PK for any extended amount of time and I’m guessing it’s because JP lacks that fast twitch Yamo or Hyman have… However, that doesn’t mean my question is any less valid…

Jesse Puljujarvi could be Jay Woodcroft’s Herlihy Boy. Just let Jesse score you a goal on the PP, Jay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXyW5w5RRFY

Cult of Hockey

The Edmonton Oilers resuscitated season is at least partly due to a new D-pairing; 9 Things

26-year-old Andre Kuzmenko has been on fire for St. Petersburg of the KHL this season, 20-33-53 in 45 games. A lot of players want out of the KHL right now for obvious reasons and Kuzmenko is one.
There is a list of teams that are actively interested in him including Toronto, Boston, and Edmonton.
He is represented by Dan Milstein who also reps Evander Kane.
Given that the Oilers were the team that extended a hand to Kane when some clubs said, “no thanks,” you would have to think Milstein would be comfortable with Edmonton as a destination for Kuzmenko.
We’ll see. And as I wrote 2 weeks ago in this space, given how good Kane has been for the Oilers, I hope Milstein can find Kane a new deal here, too. But there’ll be more than 1 offer.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m of two minds with this talented Russian. To me, he looks like he’s coming out of the Kirill Kaprizov school of forwards and maybe an argument could be made that he’s displaying Pavel Datsyuk-like skills, but on the other hand, I am very concerned about losing the first true goal-scoring power forward since Bill Guerin was in town. It’s really hard not to be tempted by what Evander Kane is doing right now and the feeling I get is that he’s going to be a force in the playoffs seeing as his playing style is perfect for the post-season.

In a perfect world, there’d be way where the Oilers could go into next season with Kane, Kuzmenko, Puljujarvi, and Yamamoto as their top-six wingers.

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey: In a recent mailbag segment, Ian Mendes was asked if Kevin Fiala or Claude Giroux would be easier for the Ottawa Senators to obtain in the offseason.
- Max Bultman was recently asked by a reader if the entire Detroit Red Wings core had to be remade (except for Moritz Seider). He suggested Filip Hronek could be a good trade candidate if management wanted to shake things up and get a solid return.
- Asked about the future of winger Filip Zadina, Bultman suggested a possible coaching change by the Wings could factor into their decision to keep or trade him.
- Rosen suspects the Vancouver Canucks could trade forwards J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser because of their contract statuses. Miller is a year away from UFA eligibility while Boeser is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and is two years from UFA status.
- Mark McIntyre believes the Jets’ offseason priority must be repairing a defense that is “comically painful to watch.”… Making room for those players, however, should force general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to seriously consider moving one or two of his veteran core players. McIntyre believes Josh Morrissey should be the only full-time Jets defender considered untouchable. He recommends Cheveldayoff explore peddling any one of Brenden Dillon, Nate Schmidt, Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk.
- Asked about Evander Kane’s contract situation, Masisak indicates multiple sources suggest a resolution could be reached before teams start reshaping their rosters in the offseason. He speculates there could be negotiations regarding a settlement between the Sharks and Kane between now and a yet-to-be-determined date for his grievance over his contract termination.
- SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kane could be receptive to a settlement. He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s keen to stay with the Edmonton Oilers. A settlement of, say, $4.5 million annually could make it easier for the Oilers to re-sign him to an affordable deal.

BLH’s Thoughts: If E.Kane is still scoring at this rate next year for $4.5M/yr, I’ll be considering that contract the steal of the summer… I’ll be very curious to see if there are any takers for Tyson Barrie because that’s a straight swap if Ken Holland can swing it.

This is going to be a very challenging summer for Holland and his crew. I can’t wait to watch him work his magic because the off-season is when he does it.