Edmonton Oilers would be nowhere near what it is right now without Jesse Puljujärvi. Until a couple of years ago, such an idea seemed like a utopia, writes Tommi Seppälä, NH Sport’s journalist for Urheil.
There was a time in Edmonton when stories were told in the hallways of the ice rink that the team’s high-paying stars wouldn’t want to play Jesse Puljujärven with. This was a time when Finnish talent, which had met high expectations through a small booking number, was still seeking its place in the NHL world.
Much more would not change in a couple of years.
Puljujärvi has grown into an almost invaluable soul and example player for his team, making anyone better by him. This is an incredible and very exceptional growth story on a Finnish scale – especially when you think about how deep in the waters Puljujärvi recently swam.
The gaps between the club management and the player, which had become inflamed at least to some level, led to a return to Finland before the corona pandemic. Puljujärvi, who was in growth, wanted to leave Edmonton, but an experienced CEO Ken Holland was not ready to give up a Finn who had lost his resale value for free.
Oh, brethren, what that Dutch decision looks like right now.
Two years later, Puljujärvi is perhaps the team’s most comprehensive and reliable striker. He is the wish player of every coach who, in addition to his hard personal skill level, has a relentlessly hard work ethic. He has the strength of a bull and the desire to make the most of it for the benefit of the team.
On top of all that, he’s confident in what coaches love. Puljujärvi recognizes the situations, moderates to stay under the game and practically never plays with hopes for power points.
Puljujärvi has become an extremely important player for his team. He performs steadily from one evening to the next. Playing with such a player could be imagined to be at the top of the superstar wish list.
Puljujärvi is an ideal chain mate Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitlille precisely through humility and work ethic. The Finn is ready to do “dirty work” so that superstars get their name in power statistics.
For example, on Thursday morning, Puljujärvi played a fantastic match, although it did not get to power. Relentless workload, numerous battles won, most tackles (6) of all players and winning your own game with a chain 2-0. Not a single-sector finish line came to its head.
Puljujärvi has been frozen in power statistics once in the last two months. There will be twenty matches in the period (after January 22).
When Puljujärvi was sidelined for an injury in February-March, Edmonton won six of their 12 matches. Without Puljujärvi, Edmonton was the 10th best team in the Western Conference.
Since the return of Puljujärvi, the team’s score has risen from 54 to 69. The Oilers have been the second best team in the West during the period. Puljujärvi himself has recorded a balance of 0 + 5 and +9 in eight games since his return.
The dominance of statistics is also evident in the playmates
Hockey is, of course, a team game and there is more to winning, but the importance of Lake Puljujärvi should not be underestimated. If you browse the advanced statistics of the NHL over the past month, Lake Puljujärvi can be found confusingly high in almost all important columns.
Puljujärvi’s goal difference of five to five after returning is a crushing 10-1! The reading is the third best in the whole league. The finish line ratio is the fifth best in the league and the ratio of finish points is the fourth best. The Oulu striker is the best of his own team in almost all categories.
And Puljujärvi has not come to the top of the statistics in anyone’s wing, quite the contrary: the statistics of other Oilers attackers vary depending on whether they have played with Puljujärvi.
Take, for example, Connmont McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. It is dumbfounding what these statistics and finish line statistics look like with and without Puljujärvi. For example, the ratio of McDavid’s paint expectations without Puljujärvi is 56 percent and with Puljujärvi 63 percent.
Advanced statistics show that Draisaitl plays an average of five against five. Playing with Puljujärvi has pumped up the German goal expectation ratio by ten percentage points (47-57%).
With Nugent-Hopkins, Puljujärvi has been playing for about an hour. 74% of finishers in the first sector have been recorded. Excluding Finns, this figure is 47 percent.
Different numbers for the new contract
Of course, Jesse Puljujärvi can also continue to develop and bring new elements to his game. In terms of power, the power plant has not yet been dazzled, but especially in this case, time must be given for these things.
Puljujärvi has repeatedly said that he wants to stay humble next to the star players. However, it is clear that at some point the hard level of basic Finnish gaming will also be reflected in the power.
On the other hand, it is not worth forgetting the patterns of the summer: Puljujärvi, who is playing the last year of his contract, is playing completely different sums for his new contract. He has become a valuable, even at some level invaluable, player to Oilers, whose social culture in recent years has not included the reliability of two directions.
Such a soul and example player pays. The situation is tedious for the club: it should be able to sign contracts with six strikers, a pair of defenders and one goalkeeper for next season. The money for it is about nine million dollars.
Puljujärvi is definitely the most important player for the club next summer. What is he asking and how much is Edmonton willing to hit the table with bucks? Puljujärvi certainly wants to continue in Edmonton, where he has had his career rise.
Equally, once again, the hat must be raised big on Puljujärvi. The public mangel that followed the return to the flies certainly didn’t make it easy to push for such a lift for an NHL career.
Puljujärvi has not been considered the toughest sequel to the Finnish disc, but the breakthrough at hand tells a wonderful story about spiritual toughness.