DK: It's all just a (convoluted) asset management exercise now
Hey, listen, go right ahead and carve up that turkey the same way Bryan Rust carved up the Canucks all Thanksgiving Eve long with his speed, skill and smarts:
Two goals, an assist and No. 1 star of the Penguins' 5-4 victory over a strong Vancouver team at PPG Paints Arena ... yeah, that's some superlative stuff.
So tell, me, please, anyone, why I walked out of that place -- and I'm guessing I had plenty of company in this context from the 16,016 customers -- feeling as if the home team had just been kicked in the figurative face all over again.
Wait, I'll give it a shot: Maybe it was finding out beforehand that Jesse Puljujarvi would be a healthy scratch, given that he's young, he's got potential, he's got pedigree, he's been this team's most dangerous forward at times ... and it doesn't seem to make a dent in the still-directionless rudder of Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan. Maybe it was hearing the very fair boos for Tristan Jarry and Matt Grzelcyk in the pregame intros on this traditional Pittsburgh-specific homecoming event that's always come with such an upbeat air ... and then being able to count 2,000-plus once-unthinkably empty seats. Maybe it's working way too hard to find Philip Tomasino, the new trade acquisition from Nashville, over his 18 mostly meh minutes ... and realizing neither Puljujarvi nor Valtteri Puustinen, who just cleared waivers this week, ever get such an opportunity. Maybe it's being informed that Puustinen's the youngest player on the roster to score this season at age 25 ... and then seeing Drew O'Connor, age 26, extend his goalless streak to 17 games despite three delicious chances. ... Maybe it's wondering what this organization's got to gain in 2024 from a fourth line comprised wholly of 32-year-olds in Matt Nieto, Kevin Hayes and Noel Acciari, even if they're fine ... and then remembering that a first-round pick, Sam Poulin, was sent back to Wilkes-Barre this week for the billionth time without barely a peep from the public, which says so much about how much he deserved that. ... Maybe it's hoping for a young defenseman or two to bump Grzelcyk from the lineup and, once he was finally set to be a healthy scratch, having Owen Pickering become ill ... and then for the young third pairing of Jack St. Ivany and Ryan Shea to combined for eight official turnovers.
But mostly, it's Jarry. Not going to lie.
He's got no business being here anymore, much less starting. I don't say that because he let the Canucks claw back from 5-1 to 5-4, as three of the goals were eminently stoppable. I don't say that because of his execrable .868 save percentage. I don't say that because management deemed it worthwhile to pay him a pro-rated $1 million to just get lost for a month.
Nope, I say that because he's the third-best -- if that -- goaltender on the depth chart, and they're all behind Joel Blomqvist, whose two games in Wilkes-Barre have already brought one shutout and a .945 save percentage. Which isn't a surprise. He shouldn't be there. He's 22. He's had his seasoning. He's had his NHL icebreaking.
Let's call this what it is: Although they couldn't concede this, Dubas and, by extension, Sullivan are conducting an NHL regular season that's tacitly a tryout camp and/or asset management exercise. Meaning they're OK moving players in and out of the lineup to see who might rise up -- which would be inspired if that were it -- but they won't move out anyone who's older and/or has a difficult contract to dump because those guys need to be shown. And as a result, there's ... this mess. Where Puljujarvi rises up but still gets scratched. Where Nieto suits up every night even though no one would want him fresh off two knee surgeries. And above all, where Jarry's become the awful anchor upon whatever the current team could hope to be.
I can't understand why they can't seem to understand that nobody outside their own orbit understands what in hell they're aiming to achieve right now.
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THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
5:47 am - 11.28.2024PPG Paints ArenaDK: It's all just a (convoluted) asset management exercise now
Hey, listen, go right ahead and carve up that turkey the same way Bryan Rust carved up the Canucks all Thanksgiving Eve long with his speed, skill and smarts:
Two goals, an assist and No. 1 star of the Penguins' 5-4 victory over a strong Vancouver team at PPG Paints Arena ... yeah, that's some superlative stuff.
So tell, me, please, anyone, why I walked out of that place -- and I'm guessing I had plenty of company in this context from the 16,016 customers -- feeling as if the home team had just been kicked in the figurative face all over again.
Wait, I'll give it a shot: Maybe it was finding out beforehand that Jesse Puljujarvi would be a healthy scratch, given that he's young, he's got potential, he's got pedigree, he's been this team's most dangerous forward at times ... and it doesn't seem to make a dent in the still-directionless rudder of Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan. Maybe it was hearing the very fair boos for Tristan Jarry and Matt Grzelcyk in the pregame intros on this traditional Pittsburgh-specific homecoming event that's always come with such an upbeat air ... and then being able to count 2,000-plus once-unthinkably empty seats. Maybe it's working way too hard to find Philip Tomasino, the new trade acquisition from Nashville, over his 18 mostly meh minutes ... and realizing neither Puljujarvi nor Valtteri Puustinen, who just cleared waivers this week, ever get such an opportunity. Maybe it's being informed that Puustinen's the youngest player on the roster to score this season at age 25 ... and then seeing Drew O'Connor, age 26, extend his goalless streak to 17 games despite three delicious chances. ... Maybe it's wondering what this organization's got to gain in 2024 from a fourth line comprised wholly of 32-year-olds in Matt Nieto, Kevin Hayes and Noel Acciari, even if they're fine ... and then remembering that a first-round pick, Sam Poulin, was sent back to Wilkes-Barre this week for the billionth time without barely a peep from the public, which says so much about how much he deserved that. ... Maybe it's hoping for a young defenseman or two to bump Grzelcyk from the lineup and, once he was finally set to be a healthy scratch, having Owen Pickering become ill ... and then for the young third pairing of Jack St. Ivany and Ryan Shea to combined for eight official turnovers.
But mostly, it's Jarry. Not going to lie.
He's got no business being here anymore, much less starting. I don't say that because he let the Canucks claw back from 5-1 to 5-4, as three of the goals were eminently stoppable. I don't say that because of his execrable .868 save percentage. I don't say that because management deemed it worthwhile to pay him a pro-rated $1 million to just get lost for a month.
Nope, I say that because he's the third-best -- if that -- goaltender on the depth chart, and they're all behind Joel Blomqvist, whose two games in Wilkes-Barre have already brought one shutout and a .945 save percentage. Which isn't a surprise. He shouldn't be there. He's 22. He's had his seasoning. He's had his NHL icebreaking.
Let's call this what it is: Although they couldn't concede this, Dubas and, by extension, Sullivan are conducting an NHL regular season that's tacitly a tryout camp and/or asset management exercise. Meaning they're OK moving players in and out of the lineup to see who might rise up -- which would be inspired if that were it -- but they won't move out anyone who's older and/or has a difficult contract to dump because those guys need to be shown. And as a result, there's ... this mess. Where Puljujarvi rises up but still gets scratched. Where Nieto suits up every night even though no one would want him fresh off two knee surgeries. And above all, where Jarry's become the awful anchor upon whatever the current team could hope to be.
I can't understand why they can't seem to understand that nobody outside their own orbit understands what in hell they're aiming to achieve right now.
Want to participate in our comments?
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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