MATHESON: Puljujarvi can only watch in return to Edmonton

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If we’re dissecting Jesse Puljujarvi’s NHL body of work since he was drafted seven and a half years ago, what we should be seeing is slumped shoulders, lots of metal in his hips, hands in a “no mas” position, but, instead, there’s the permanent smile.

It’s his trademark, really. It travels with him, along with his skates and sticks.

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He’s still happy-go-lucky, even though his road has been full of potholes.

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He was wearing a smile and a Penguins shirt pre-game Sunday, No. 18.

“Hyman,” he said, with a laugh.

Ah, he would love to have Hyman’s hands, but, alas, he doesn’t.

He’s not alone. Not many NHLers do this season.

He was picked fourth overall in 2016, falling to the Oilers when most people felt Jarmo Kekalainen, the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets at that time, would take him at No. 3, but he took Pierre-Luc Dubois instead. He has the 12th-most points from that 2016 draft class with 114 (51 goals), so clearly he would like more. But, who really knows with first-rounders?

“I had no idea how this journey would be,” he said. “Not any clue. But I’m still pretty young 25 and turning 26 (May 7). I want to be a good player, again.”

We’ve been through that here with other first-rounders, trying to figure out who and what they were. Like Andrew Cogliano, who was a point-producer in college and pretty good in his early Oilers days until he had to look in the mirror and decided he had to play more like Todd Marchant to have a long NHL career.

It didn’t work here for Puljujarvi through his 317 Edmonton Oiler games or after they traded him to the Hurricanes a year ago for a short test drive. Oilers GM Ken Holland was able to get $3 million in cap relief by dealing Puljujarvi and a few hours later was able to trade for Mattias Ekholm. Now Puljujarvi is in his third stop, with Pittsburgh after two off-season hip surgeries.

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But the Bison King still has his smile. Good on him.

Puljujarvi went into Sunday’s game with the Oilers without a point in eight Penguins games after he was signed to a two-year $1.6 million free-agent deal a month ago. But, he was glad to be back at Rogers Place for the first time after being traded Feb. 28, 2023 to Carolina.

It would have been a whole lot better story if he had played Sunday rather than be a healthy scratch just as he was in Calgary on Saturday, but that’s life.

“It feels a little bit weird to come here with a different team (Oilers home rink),” said Puljujarvi. “Hopefully the fans will be good. The fans always took care of me.”

Heck, he was a folk hero here. Most loved him, no matter what.

No Elk Island Park outside Pittsburgh that he’s stumbled upon?

No Bison there? “No, I haven’t found that,” he laughed.

His hips are fine now — hip, hip hooray — but they weren’t through his last Oilers season or in Carolina. With little NHL wear and tear, he has needed not one but, two double-hip procedures. The first came after the 2018-2019 season, then the last time in the operating theatre last spring.

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“It’s been a long process to get back to big league,” said Puljujarvi, who struggled to skate last season because of his hips and took painkillers. “It was pretty bad, but now I’m pain free with more motion. Yeah, it was really hard to play (with pain). But I tried to do everything right and play every night.”

He has no idea why he’s had such trouble with his hips. Maybe his skating stride, maybe he was just born with an issue. Nobody has ever said why. “It’s really hard to say. I had a scope in 2019 and it felt pretty good for a couple of years. But everything started again and now I did the big one (operation),” he said.

What Puljujarvi has to do, and quickly, is find out how he can stay in the NHL and not go back to Finland or somewhere else in Europe. What is he, what is his role? He played on an all-world junior line with Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine before the draft, but he couldn’t find regular top six work here. Most likely, he’ll have to change his game to become a bottom six contributor.

He has shown the ability to knock pucks off sticks with his long reach, has pretty good possession numbers and he can play responsibly defensively, but it doesn’t seem likely that he will be a top six NHL point-producer.

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“He’s gone through a significant injury and worked extremely hard to get to the position he’s at,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “What he brings to our team is a lot of size, a lot of reach, he can get in on the fore-check, he’s potentially a guy who can be good at the net-front. That’s why I see in the time we’ve had him.”

Does Puljujarvi know what his place is in today’s NHL?

“No. Like I said, it’s a big process. It’s going to be hard. There’s so many good players here and when I’m playing I have to be at my best. I’m taking baby steps. I trust myself that I’ll be a good player for this league,” he said.

Sullivan has seen it all with high draft picks. Some figure it out, some don’t.

“I think this is what Jesse’s going through right now, all young players go through that process, regardless of where they’re drafted. Obviously there’s an expectation associated with high picks. Sometimes it takes longer for players to figure out what they are and how they can carve themselves a role on specific teams where they can bring something positive to help a team,” said Sullivan.

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