Almost three weeks ago, forward Jesse Puljujarvi joined the Pittsburgh Penguins on a free agent tryout after undergoing offseason double hip surgery.
Ever since joining the Penguins, Puljujarvi has been working his way through a rehab process and it still working his way back to health and getting familiar with the team.
With the season nearing the midway point, Puljujarvi still has some catching up to do as he joined his possible new teammates on the ice for the first time in a while.
According to head coach Mike Sullivan, Puljujarvi is practicing in a full capacity and will continue to work with the team both on and off the ice.
“Jesse will continue to work with us here for the next little while,” Sullivan said. “We’ll see where that goes moving forward.”
Since Puljujarvi doesn’t have a contract set in stone, it’s still possible the Penguins decide to not keep him around and send him back to free agency.
The Penguins do, however, believe they could use Puljujarvi’s talents if he returns to health.
“I do think he’s a guy that potentially could fit into our group and help us,” Sullivan said. “He has good size. He’s a guy that could play up and down the lineup.”
Getting Puljujarvi back to health isn’t the only piece of the puzzle that needs to fall into place for him to earn a contract, but also getting up to game speed on the ice.
In his most recent skate with the team, Puljujarvi was playing with Penguins’ penalty killers, putting emphasis on his defensive game.
A decision is still yet to be made on Puljujarvi, but the Penguins seem hopeful he can earn a legitimate role in the lineup.
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