The Oilers Appear To Be Mismanaging Jesse Puljujarvi

On Tuesday night, Todd McLellan apparently tried to send a message to Jesse Puljujarvi by playing him only 8:34 in the team’s embarrassing 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yesterday in practice, Puljujarvi received the Benoit Pouliot treatment and was relegated to the team’s fourth line.

The lines, per 630 CHED’s Bob Stauffer.

Oilers lines today:
Lucic-McDavid-Draisaitl,
Pouliot-RNH-Eberle
Pitlick-Caggiula-Slepyshev/Kassian
Maroon/Hendricks-Letestu-Puljujarvi

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) November 30, 2016

I won’t get into just how hit or miss that bottom six appears to be, but that’s not an ideal spot for Puljujarvi. JP hadn’t been cashing in goal wise on Connor McDavid’s wing, but he was at least putting up some points and appeared to be gaining traction as an NHL’er.

Now, after a pretty bad mistake against Toronto, Puljujarvi is in the doghouse. I won’t sit here and say he played great against the Leafs, the one-on-four into the offensive zone that
ended up going the other way was pretty bad, but I don’t think it warrants him being relegated to fourth line duty.

I’m just not sure what this role is going to accomplish for Puljujarvi. He’s a young player adapting to the NHL, a skilled player who is still very much developing. Having him play on a fourth line with veteran grinders certainly doesn’t seem like a wise decision to this observer.

It reminds me of Sam Gagner starting the 2009-10 season on the fourth line under Pat Quinn. Yes, the player has his faults and isn’t a finished product yet, but putting him in a position he doesn’t fit is not going to help the situation. Puljujarvi is a skilled forward and should be playing top-nine minutes. He’s a smart player, but a checking line doesn’t help him develop into the player this club needs him to be.

If the plan for Todd McLellan and company is to play Puljujarvi eight minutes a night, then they are best served sending him to Bakersfield for an extended stretch, seriously. This is an extremely talented young player who needs to be put in offensive positions and develop in the appropriate role. If that means first line minutes in Bakersfield for a month, then so be it.

Playing someone like Puljujarvi on the fourth line makes absolutely no sense to me, and I think it could backfire on the youngster. There’s nothing wrong with not being ready to handle the NHL, but if the Oilers feel that way then they should send him to the AHL and let him play featured minutes. It’s the right thing to do.

There is also nothing wrong with sending a player a message. McLellan was right to staple Puljujarvi to the bench after a few mistakes Tuesday, just as he was right to staple both Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Eberle to the bench on numerous occasions this season. That said, a grudge cannot be carried and eventually you have to let the player do his thing.

Todd McLellan has done a really good job of towing that line so far this season, but I’m interested in seeing how he deals with the rookie. An extended stay on the fourth line, in my eyes, would be a huge mistake and would be a case of mishandling a major asset.