It’s important to acknowledge that Pouliot was not a good player for the Oilers in 2016-17. It’s also important to note what an aberration that was.
Pouliot has long been pigeonholed as a bottom-six player, and thus limited in terms of how much he played. But on a per-minute basis, he’s always been a highly effective scorer, which can be a sign of a player who has been underappreciated.
Over the seven seasons between 2009 and 2016, Pouliot scored 2.0 points/hour in 5-on-5 situations. That ranks 56th in the NHL over that span, a number a little better than Mats Zuccarello and a little bit worse than Alex Steen.
It’s possible Pouliot’s scoring rate would have dipped with more ice-time, but that’s not what happened in his first two years in Edmonton, the first time in his career he got that opportunity. He scored 1.9 and 2.1 points/hour, respectively, in 2014-15 and 2015-16. He was also on-pace to easily top 20 goals both years when injury made that impossible.
That’s not all. Prior to 2016-17, Pouliot’s on-ice shot metrics were superior to his team’s average for seven consecutive seasons. His on-ice goal numbers were superior to the team average in six of those seven seasons. His teams do a better job of outshooting and outscoring their opponents when he’s out there.
In short, Pouliot delivers genuine offensive punch and has been part of effective two-way lines for virtually his entire NHL career. He definitely deserves a chance to show that last season was a bump in the road, and the team that bets on him could get a very good player for pennies on the dollar.