Letestu Needs to Be Removed From the PP

[Blue Line Turnover]

Even Jesus was doubted...

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Put poolparty on the left half wall

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

For the love of all things decent in this world, get Letestu off the f***ing power play. PJ was the only forward to not get 1 second of PP ice time. It is getting ridiculous already.

 

[Always]

The entire first powerplay is a mess. They should be embarrassed at how badly the second unit is outplaying them.

Letestu has been the worst by far though, get him off that unit. Also have McDavid and Draisaitl on opposite sides. They pass the puck way too much and the opposition knows it. There are always player in their passing lanes now, because they are way too damn predictable.

So lets see how this makes sense how can Letestu be the worst if he never gets his shot off, as you say Mcd and Drai move the puck way to much and passing lanes are cut off yet Klefbom refuses to pass the puck to Letestu he will only move the puck to Mcd. Last year Letestu was the shooter and there were plenty of rebounds for all. so what i see here is poor distribution of the puck starting with Klefbom if Mcd and Drai are covered why does Klefbom refuse to give the puck to Letestu in postion to get his shot off. If you don't believe just watch the next game against Minnesota and tell me how many times Klefbom moves the puck so Letestu can get a shot off. The problem is way to many passes and your shooter is not being utilized.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Listening to a popular national hockey radio show today and an ex NHLer and the analysts ripped the Oiler PP for being ineffective. They said the only person that moves is McDavid. No movement, no net front presence, no shot or threat to score from the point. So true.

We don’t set a screen, we put Lucic or Maroon to the low left of the net. They alluded to Klefbom being injured - upper body - as he has no power to his shot. TMac has said he’s banged up. And a blind man can see they have no movement.

Letestu is a big part of this problem as he does not provide the one time threat he did last year.

Time to change it up. He’s a liability out there now.

 

[McNuge]

So lets see how this makes sense how can Letestu be the worst if he never gets his shot off, as you say Mcd and Drai move the puck way to much and passing lanes are cut off yet Klefbom refuses to pass the puck to Letestu he will only move the puck to Mcd. Last year Letestu was the shooter and there were plenty of rebounds for all. so what i see here is poor distribution of the puck starting with Klefbom if Mcd and Drai are covered why does Klefbom refuse to give the puck to Letestu in postion to get his shot off. If you don't believe just watch the next game against Minnesota and tell me how many times Klefbom moves the puck so Letestu can get a shot off. The problem is way to many passes and your shooter is not being utilized.

Letestu is just not very good at getting open, he also does not have that great of a shot. It's not bad, but if he is the trigger man on the PP it probably isn't the best PP. I do agree with you that Klef doesn't give him the puck very often, but he is a left shot so he can move the puck better to the right side rather than trying to set him up with a backhand pass.

Also any time Letestu has to make a play with the puck it often leads to either a turnover or a zone clear. This is the most frustrating part of having him on the PP.

 

[McNuge]

Listening to a popular national hockey radio show today and an ex NHLer and the analysts ripped the Oiler PP for being ineffective. They said the only person that moves is McDavid. No movement, no net front presence, no shot or threat to score from the point. So true.

We don’t set a screen, we put Lucic or Maroon to the low left of the net. They alluded to Klefbom being injured - upper body - as he has no power to his shot. TMac has said he’s banged up. And a blind man can see they have no movement.

Letestu is a big part of this problem as he does not provide the one time threat he did last year.

Time to change it up. He’s a liability out there now.

This is the main problem. No one moves on the PP, and with no movement the other teams PK just boxes them out soooo easily.

 

[McDavid87]

i know it’s been said many times, but i can’t figure it out and it drives me absolutely insane. i try to look at it from a different angle and it doesn’t make sense to me.

even when the Oilers win games, i’m not happy about it because

WHY is Letestu still on the PP?

McLellan talks about being “rewarded” with PP time, so why is Letestu getting that reward when he has scored a few goals after 2 000 000 million PP minutes?

why not TRY putting Puljujarvi on that unit for at least 1 time? especially when they have a powerplay and are up a couple of goals.....

ok so leave Letestu there if you want, but why not put Puljujarvi on that spot in the second unit PP?

do they not see the same player as everyone else?

how are they so naive or stubborn?

and i can’t stand it when Letestu scores from that spot because the coaching staff will think it worked. but it only works 1/60 powerplays

his shot isn’t even that great. if the pass to him is off by an inch, he won’t shoot.

i know it’s been said before but i don’t care anymore

USE PULJUJARVI! i’m going to lose it

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

Welcome to HF Boards!

Prepare to die.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Because the "coaches" for this team are narcissistic stubborn invalids that are incapable of admitting they're wrong by changing course and doing the sensible thing.

McLellan and his buddies Woodcroft and Johnson are the things from the 70's you find in the bargain bin at the thrift shop. Out of date and annoying to look at.

 

[Kolja]

I share your pain.

 

[McDavid87]

but the thing is they FINALLY put him on the powerplay, but why that spot?

everytime they go on a powerplay and i see Letestu on there, i get so pissed off.

if anyone performed that poorly at their job they would get fired.

i am sure that Puljujarvi is frustrated about it too. he has said in interviews that he likes shooting. let him shoot!

JUST TRY IT 1 TIME DAMNIT!

it’s like telling Gordon Ramsay to not cook his steak on a pan, but to cook it on a BBQ

 

[McFlash97]

overtme 4 on 3 PP he had fn Letestu out there, Puljujarvi is sitting on the bench. This guy is starting to look like a joke

 

[McDavid87]

what goes through their head?

he’s the best forward defensively
he’s the best winger
he has the best shot
he’s one of the fastest

so what’s the problem here?

in all the years of watching the Oilers, this one issue is one of the stupidest things.

 

[48g90a138pts]

but the thing is they FINALLY put him on the powerplay, but why that spot?

everytime they go on a powerplay and i see Letestu on there, i get so pissed off.

if anyone performed that poorly at their job they would get fired.

i am sure that Puljujarvi is frustrated about it too. he has said in interviews that he likes shooting. let him shoot!

JUST TRY IT 1 TIME DAMNIT!

it’s like telling Gordon Ramsay to not cook his steak on a pan, but to cook it on a BBQ

I like Letestu and think he makes a great 4th line C and is important on the PK. But I feel the same way, taking him off the PP would be the prudent thing to do at this point.

I wouldn't like this, possibly Chiarelli needs to move Letestu just to take that option out of McLellan's hands.

Not trying to take anything away from Letestu, he did great last year on the PP. This year... not so much.

Giving Puljujarvi a 5 game or so chance to get a feel and show what he's got, is what I'd like to see. If he too struggles then you can try someone else or put Mark back. I don't care, but the PP is terrible atm and if it's broke, Todd needs to fix it. Another player on the team who is RH and has a great shot is Slepychev, but apparently he's in the doghouse, as per speculation.

What a s**t show

 

[McDavid87]

i agree he’s a great penalty killer and 4th line center.

even if Letestu gets moved, Puljujarvi will probably still be in the slot instead of his one timer spot. i don’t understand how sports broadcasters and fans see this issue, but the coaching staff can’t.

i honestly think i can be a better PP coach right now.

 

[D Wakaluk]

I've watched tons of puljuhockey in the past and the kid is a natural on the pp. He has all the tools to be effective if given the responsibility.

But, unfortunately he lacks the english to be a real asset on the NHL level. We all know that bad english takes away the hockey skill on higher levels. If guys like Panarin couldn't get it done, there's very little hope for Jessi. Right now he has the amount of english to be on the 2nd PP unit. The one that has 40s~ left to get in the zone, facing fresh pkers, while playing with mediocre linemates. It just makes no sense to actually trust the guy and use him in the spot he's best in.

 

[McDavid87]

i would have to disagree

he’s already on the ice so it’s doesn’t matter if he puts him in the slot or the halfboards.

Letestu knows english and he is useless on the PP.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

what goes through their head?

he’s the best forward defensively
he’s the best winger
he has the best shot
he’s one of the fastest

so what’s the problem here?

in all the years of watching the Oilers, this one issue is one of the stupidest things.

"I don't understand the issue here. You described Letestu to a tee." -

 

[GameChanger]

This thread was created on November the 17th, but already before that there'd been a lot of frustration going on for ages.

I emphasize the problem is not just Letestu, but I'm sure even his hardcore fans admit that they should try other options in the 1st PP. IMO should've done already before this thread was created.

I think maybe Chia and TM think they're cleverer than the others and they've been trying to increase Letestu's value and lower Jesse's. Maybe they honestly believed that would not cost points to the team, but it's made at least the coaches look stupid and very possibly lose credibility within the team too.

Maybe they've now realized how stupid they've been and feel it's too late to back up. The coaches may think that if Puljujarvi starts shooting goals it'll turn against them. Or if they change the PP dramatically some other way and it starts working it'll turn against them, too. So game after game they keep their fingers crossed and hope it somehow clicks and that fans and media will remain quiet enough with some nominal changes.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

trade letestu to pittsburgh

 

[GameChanger]

Out of curiosity I checked the GDT on November the 1st and there were complaints about the 1st PP already then. Along with comments such as:

Guess thats what happens when your best shooter Letestu only actually gets a good shot off about 2% of the time and can't actually ever handle the puck so they can stack the lanes on McDavid's side. PP is far too predictable because it runs through 1 threat, McDavid.

Sounds pretty familiar nine weeks later, doesn't it. Again, nothing against Letestu himself, just the stubbornness of the coaches. But hey think about, it's been 30 games since the GDT I checked (and I'm sure it started much earlier) and TM is still adamant there's no need for changes.

E: Sorry I didn't realize I'm losing my mind thread is also talking about this issue...

 

[Mr Positive]

I don't know who should be on the PP or not, and I would like JP to get more PP time, but threads like this are ludicrous. McLellan makes his decisions based on trying to win, and so there must be a real reason why JP is held back a bit.

It's not like McLellan has it in for JP, or else why would he be promoted to the top line with McDavid? That's like a wish come true for a lot of players in this league.

There's a lot we do not see. We don't see how JP looks on the PP during practices for instance. Yes, JP has a great shot, but that's only one part of playing the PP. There's got to be a reason why JP's not on the top unit, and it definitely isn't because McLellan is dumb, or that he has some kind of vendetta.

Another thing. Player confidence is fragile, especially when they are young. As good as JP has been this season, there are legions of fans who would turn on him really quickly if things turned sour and he started slumping, and then who knows? Maybe a Yakupov-type ending is in the cards for him.

 

[GameChanger]

We don't see how JP looks on the PP during practices for instance. Yes, JP has a great shot, but that's only one part of playing the PP. There's got to be a reason why JP's not on the top unit, and it definitely isn't because McLellan is dumb, or that he has some kind of vendetta.

While I respect you and your post there's no good excuses not to give Jesse a chance.

As mentioned quite a few times he's been just excellent on the PP in the the other leagues and he looked great last year when he had some PP time during a few games at the start of the season. This can be checked from the old GDTs. He looked great and hit the post a few times and actually the fans were angry for a long time that TM took him away from the PP so suddenly. He was also great on the PP in the last preseason game (again can be checked here).

We all know he's got an excellent shot which would also help in creating room for the others. I really believe no other team would hide it the way the Oilers do.

 

[Mr Positive]

While I respect you and your post there's no good excuses not to give Jesse a chance.

As mentioned quite a few times he's been just excellent on the PP in the the other leagues and he looked great last year when he had some PP time during a few games at the start of the season. This can be checked from the old GDTs. He looked great and hit the post a few times and actually the fans were angry for a long time that TM took him away from the PP so suddenly. He was also great on the PP in the last preseason game (again can be checked here).

We all know he's got an excellent shot which would also help in creating room for the others. I really believe no other team would hide it the way the Oilers do.

JP does get PP time though, just on the 2nd unit. Or else, why not obsess about putting RNH on the 1st unit? It's weird to have this common obsession with taking one particular player off of one particular line, and replacing him with a very particular player. It's like a cult of Puljujarvi all of a sudden

This was a player that the majority on this board seemed to think would be a bust and were crying that Laine didn't fall to us, and posters like me had to defend Puljujarvi, pointing out how Drai had a rough first year too.