Were the Penguins doing the right thing by holding Jesse Puljujarvi - waived Monday - out of a fourth-line role? Just a few weeks after being waived on Dec. 30 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-place-forward-jesse-puljujarvi-on-waivers] and going unclaimed, Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/] forward Jesse Puljujarvi got hit with more bad news on Tuesday. Ahead of their tilt against the Seattle Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-v-kraken-preview-pens-set-to-square-off-against-former-head-coach], the Penguins optioned Puljujarvi to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), their AHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, forward Evgeni Malkin - who has been out since Jan. 5 with an upper-body injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-star-forward-heads-to-injured-reserve] - was activated from injured reserve. Puljujarvi, 26, had double-hip surgery in the summer of 2023 and was signed by the GM Kyle Dubas and the Penguins on Feb. 4, 2024 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/pittsburgh-penguins-sign-jesse-puljujarvi-two-year-deal], after making the team on a paid tryout (PTO). He made the NHL team out of training camp in 2024 after an impressive pre-season, but he has been in and out of the lineup since then. So far this season, he has registered three goals and nine points in 25 games for the Penguins. Over the course of his career up to this point, Puljujarvi has 57 goals and 127 points in 381 NHL games. He previously played for the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him fourth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
