Jesse Puljujarvi had every reason to celebrate an individual accomplishment on Tuesday.
During the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-3 home win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the winger opened the scoring at PPG Paints Arena with his first goal in more than a calendar year.
It was an accomplishment worth noting considering Puljujarvi is barely six months removed from resurfacing surgery on each of his hips.
Going unsigned at the NHL level through the 2023 offseason and into February, Puljujarvi is a comeback story worth celebrating.
After Tuesday’s game, the only tale of resolve he was interested in focusing on was one that could put his sputtering team into a playoff position.
“We know it’s a little bit hard spot for us,” said Puljujarvi, who largely deflected questions about his personal triumph to team-focused answers. “But we just need to get rolling every night and get those important points. You never know what happens next.”
What could happen next, possibly as soon as Wednesday, is a member of the current roster being jettisoned to some outpost like Vancouver or Dallas or Las Vegas.
The Penguins are expected to be sellers as they approach the NHL’s trade deadline on Friday. It’s a very foreign station to be operating from for this franchise which has almost always been a buyer since the spring of 2007 when it brought in power forward and eventual cult hero Gary Roberts from the Florida Panthers.
Be it All-Stars, like forwards Marian Hossa (2008) or Bill Guerin (2009), minor contributors such as forward Marcel Goc (2014) or defenseman Mark Streit (2017) or just spectacular swing-and-misses along the lines of forwards Derrick Brassard (2018) or Mikael Granlund (2023), the Penguins, have always added something to the roster in the legitimate pursuit of another Stanley Cup title.
The Penguins potentially being sellers — even if they aren’t necessarily in a full tear-out-the-foundation rebuilding project — is a stance this organization hasn’t taken since forward Sidney Crosby’s rookie campaign and general manager Craig Patrick’s final season of 2005-06.
It’s a strange sensation, at least to observers of the club.
For those who have been part of the greatest era in the history of the franchise, it’s something else.
“It’s not strange,” said Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, a member of the franchise’s three most recent championship squads. “It’s awful, to be honest. It was our job from the beginning of the year to put ourselves in a good spot and we didn’t. Now, we’re here today and we have to deal with this. At the same time, (the playoffs are) within reach and the goal is the same.”
That goal may be the same, but it’s going to be really hard to chase down given that the Penguins (28-24-8, 64 points) entered Wednesday eight points behind the rival Philadelphia Flyers (32-23-8, 72 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
They are also an octet of points behind the Detroit Red Wings (33-22-6, 72 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning (33-24-6, 72 points) for the Eastern Conference’s wild card positions.
With only 22 games remaining on the schedule, there isn’t much runway left for the Penguins.
And should any of the team’s leading contributors become ex-employees of the club by Friday, that pursuit doesn’t figure to get any easier.
But to a man, current members of the roster profess resolve.
“Business as usual,” Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves said. “Our goal hasn’t differed. If you’re looking to mail it in, you shouldn’t be in this business. There’s no quit in here. We’re still fighting, we still believe we can get in. Obviously, we made it a little bit tougher on ourselves with (a 1-3-0 road trip last week). But it is what it is. We’re not quitting in here.”
The speculation — the vast majority of it based on nothing close to reality — around the Penguins’ roster isn’t likely to quit in the days leading to Friday’s deadline at 3 p.m.
Puljujarvi, ever mindful of aspirations grander than his own interests, succinctly explained how he and his teammates will approach the deadline.
“We play hockey and the (media, fans) think other things,” Puljujarvi said. “We just play.”
