Kyle Dubas lands another high-profile acquisition in Pittsburgh
During his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kyle Dubas became known for the swings he took on reclamation projects in an attempt to revive the careers of former high draft picks who simply didn't pan out. Well, he's done it again - this time, with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Per an official announcement from the team, Dubas and the Penguins have signed former 4th overall pick, Jesse Puljujarvi, to a PTO.
Puljujarvi, who was very highly-touted before being drafted in 2016, "fell" into the Edmonton Oilers' lap after he was projected to be drafted third overall, behind Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine. The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Pierre-Luc Dubois instead, allowing the Oilers to gleefully take the Finnish winger at number 4.
Heading into the draft, he had scored 13 goals and 28 points in 50 games for Karpat of the SM-liiga - a professional league - and paced the World Juniors in points with 17 in just 7 games as he was paired up with Sebastian Aho and the aforementioned Laine.
Puljujarvi struggled to make in-roads at the NHL-level with just 1 goal and 8 points in first 28 games in 2016-17 before being sent down to the minors where he scored 28 points in 39 games.
Over the course of his 6-year tenure with the Oilers he managed to just scored 51 goals and 112 points in 317 games with his best season coming in 2021-22 with 14 goals and 36 points in 65 games. He also spent the entire 2019-20 and part of the 2020-21 season with Karpat where he tallied 65 points in 72 games before making his return to the NHL.
He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the 2023 NHL deadline where he tallied 2 assists in 17 regular season games and also added an assist in 7 post-season tilts. He walked into 2023 as a free agent but went unsigned after undergoing surgery, before the Penguins finally offered him a PTO this morning.
The 6'4 winger has worked on his two-way game and is looking to re-launch his NHL career with the Penguins as he's still only just 25-years-old. This one could be a stellar acquisition by Dubas.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 10 | 420 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas lands another high-profile acquisition in Pittsburgh Do you think the Puljujarvi PTO will work out for Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh? | ||
| Yes, they'll sign him to an NHL deal | 91 | 21.7 % |
| Yes, they'll sign him to an AHL deal | 122 | 29 % |
| No, they'll release him before long | 207 | 49.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
