Kyle Dubas was surprised by the fate of Jesse Puljujärvi

Ottawa

None The NHL club didn’t pick up Jesse Puljujärvi from the transfer list, where the Pittsburgh Penguins placed him earlier in the week. It stunned the Penguins GM Kyle Dubasia.

“I thought someone was going to catch him. I’m surprised,” Dubas said in Ottawa before the Young Lions game.

According to Dubas, it is not that Puljujärvi is not suitable for any NHL team.

“Sometimes it’s just timing if a player isn’t picked.”

Dubas points out that the interested teams didn’t necessarily have space in their lineup this week, if Puljujärvi, for example, had to put another player on the transfer list.

Puljujärvi’s salary of 800,000 dollars does not exactly burden the salary cap, but some clubs are now refueling their salary cap for the transfer limit.

Of course, if a team had been very interested in the Finn’s services, space would have been made one way or another.

Puljujärvi could have been a hotter currency a month ago, when he hadn’t sat in the stands for almost a month.

Penguinsilla now has the right to send Puljujärvi to the farm, but the club has not done that yet. And apparently it’s not exactly in the plans right away. Puljujärvi trains with the visiting Penguins.

“It’s good to keep Jesse with the team now on the away tour, if someone gets injured, sick or plays less well,” said Dubas.

At some point, however, Puljujärvi has to be able to play at least somewhere.

“He has played his last game on December 7, so the situation must be constantly evaluated.”

Dubas said that he had talked with Puljujärvi about his inconsolable situation.

“My message to Jesse was that I don’t want him to get depressed or lose his confidence now. He performed great in training camp, and he’s been playing well. He should stay positive, keep working and be ready when the opportunity comes.”

GM:n according to Penguins wanted to offer the Finn the opportunity to continue his career elsewhere, because he has worked so hard for his rehabilitation. In the summer of 2023, Puljujärvi had a huge hip operation.

“Jesse hasn’t been in the lineup, so after all the work he’s done, we wanted to make sure he gets a chance to play if another club wants him.”

Why has Puljujärvi become so cramped in the Penguins?

“Injured players returned to the lineup, and we acquired them in the team Philip Tomasinon. At the same time, the team started to win. So sometimes some players just have bad luck. I believe Jesse will play well as soon as he gets to show the place again.”

Puljujärvi has scored eight (3+5) points in 21 matches this season.