Claimed off Waivers: [PIT] Penguins claim F Jansen Harkins off waivers from the Jets

[heilongjetsfan]

It’s obviously a small sample size but his possession numbers (55% corsi) relative to his usage (33% zone starts) were freaking outstanding in Winnipeg last year.

Yeah, he's a middle six guy in my opinion. I think he'll do really well in Pittsburgh.

I don't really feel like he ever got a real chance under Maurice or Bones. 7 minutes with scrubs. Last year I predicted he'd go down and kill it in the A and then would get claimed on waivers. Almost nailed it.

 

[MS]

Yeah, he's a middle six guy in my opinion. I think he'll do really well in Pittsburgh.

I don't really feel like he ever got a real chance under Maurice or Bones. 7 minutes with scrubs. Last year I predicted he'd go down and kill it in the A and then would get claimed on waivers. Almost nailed it.

I’m not a Jets fan but what was really baffling to me was the laundry list of really crap bottom-6 guys Winnipeg were playing ahead of him. Gustafsson, Stenlund, Maenelainen, Gagner, and so on.

 

[jetsforever]

Too bad to lose him but hope he does well in Pittsburgh

 

[GJF]

Posted this about Jansen in the HFJets thread

Best of luck to Jansen. I said it in another thread two days ago: He should certainly get another shot in the NHL by another franchise. New team, new city, new roster and maybe a new role he can finally make his own for good. I personally doubt it is going to happen but I think he has earned at least another year around the NHL, maybe even two years. After that he's off to Europe and I'm going to say he'll end up in the DEL in Germany. To me, he looks like the absolute perfect player to dominate the german league. He has the exact right mixture of size, physicality and goal scoaring skills that you need to be a top 5 scorer in this league.

 

[GJF]

I’m not a Jets fan but what was really baffling to me was the laundry list of really crap bottom-6 guys Winnipeg were playing ahead of him. Gustafsson, Stenlund, Maenelainen, Gagner, and so on.

It's not that complicated actually... only Stenlund was a bit of a headscratcher, true.

Gustafsson: They didn't play him ahead of Harkins. Harkins played a lot more games over the last 3 years. But the pro argument for Gustafsson was age and potential upside. Hasn't happened yet, this year is going to be VERY important for him IMO.

Stenlund: Yeah well not sure here either. Probably because we picked him up on waivers IIRC and therefore had to play him obviously. We needed bottom-6 players back then. He therefore had to advantage of having to stay up in the NHL compared to Harkins.

Maenelanen: He was only with us for one full season and while certainly providing absolutely zero offense, he was most likely our best defensive bottom-6 player. Actually a really good PKer, probably the biggest reason why the Avalanche gave him a PTO 4 weeks ago. He can give a special role if you lack that player.

Gagner: Locker room vet and had a really good start the first 1/3 of the season when we signed him. Actually played on the top lines for stretches because he was kind of hot and we needed somebody to fill in. EASILY the most offense providing bottom-6 player that season. Then got hurt and never really good back to the fitness level up until today and why he is probably done in the NHL. I believe the PTO he got from Edmonton was mainly because the guy just deserved it for having a great NHL career.


Harkins, compared to the other profiles, is the prototypical AHL/NHL tweener that doesn't provide enough offense in the NHL, is only very average defensively, not particularly phyiscal, not super quick. He's not useless - but he ain't gonna give you much you probably don't already have in our system anyway.

 

[TS Quint]

I’m not a Jets fan but what was really baffling to me was the laundry list of really crap bottom-6 guys Winnipeg were playing ahead of him. Gustafsson, Stenlund, Maenelainen, Gagner, and so on.

It’s because those guys had an attribute to lean on. Harkins is just sorta alright at everything but not good at anything in particular that can be leaned on by a coach. Not offensive enough to play the PP, not defensive enough to play the PK. But not the worst at anything either.

 

[SenzZen]

Not real unless I know how much in real dollars, down to the cent, this cost the Penguins.

Same, except what does this claim have to do with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds?

 

[Guffman]

I’m not a Jets fan but what was really baffling to me was the laundry list of really crap bottom-6 guys Winnipeg were playing ahead of him. Gustafsson, Stenlund, Maenelainen, Gagner, and so on.

Harkins definitely earned a call-up and some NHL games in the latter part of the previous season given how he was lighting it up in the AHL.

He had a solid preseason this year but with all the depth players the Jets acquired in the Dubois trade, there simply was no room for Harkins.

Good, no risk pick-up for the Pens. Hoping Harkins establishes himself as a productive, NHL regular.

 

[surixon]

I’m not a Jets fan but what was really baffling to me was the laundry list of really crap bottom-6 guys Winnipeg were playing ahead of him. Gustafsson, Stenlund, Maenelainen, Gagner, and so on.

Bones didn't like him for whatever reason. He'll likely do fine on a team with a more forward thinking approach to the bottom of their roster. The Jets are still stuck in the checking third, energy fourth mindset and he didn't fit that profile.

 

[Zbynek]

It’s because those guys had an attribute to lean on. Harkins is just sorta alright at everything but not good at anything in particular that can be leaned on by a coach. Not offensive enough to play the PP, not defensive enough to play the PK. But not the worst at anything either.

Sort of what the Pens need. Everyone that was brought in for the bottom-6 this summer is a PK specialist so we don't need any more of those. Currently, Big Jeff Carter is our biggest goal scoring threat in the bottom-6 (lol). If Harkins went .5 gpg in the AHL last year that would automatically make him a candidate to be that guy.

The Andreas Johnsson experiment didn't seem to work so maybe Harkins can steal a 3W spot and play alongside Eller and Acciari.

Can Harkins play both wings? It still seems like a toss-up where our bottom-6 guys will find their spot.

Bones didn't like him for whatever reason. He'll likely do fine on a team with a more forward thinking approach to the bottom of their roster. The Jets are still stuck in the checking third, energy fourth mindset and he didn't fit that profile.

Well f*** us then because that's not how Mike Sullivan coaches the team lol. Our 3rd line gets approximately 75% d-zone starts and that will never change, so long as Sully is behind the bench.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Wow. Type of guy who seems like an ideal bottom 6 guy. Wasn't expecting him to be waived.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Harkins feels like a fit for the Pens. If it was 15/16 again I'd probably say watch this guy score 50 pts, when the Pens kept getting guys up from the minors.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Unless he’s over 32 and 7 months of age, he has no chance of playing for HC Sulky

 

[andora]

As you said it was a small sample. I've watched every game he has played in the NHL, he plays 1-2 good games then vanishes for 5-6, he is horribly inconsistent. He is 26, at this point he is what he is and expecting him to suddenly change is unrealistic.

What does he stop doing in those 5 to 6 games..

Honest question, where does he drop off.. forechecking skating hitting etc...?

 

[GJF]

What does he stop doing in those 5 to 6 games..

Honest question, where does he drop off.. forechecking skating hitting etc...?

Good question, tough to easily answer. I guess he doesn't give his absolute all anymore? His all-in focus? Like mentioned before: he's no expectional player in any aspect but when he's on and in it during his successful srretches, he produces. Over his "rather unengaged" srretches, he doesn't score and might even be a negative player in your own end.

If he produces, he's dynamic. If he doesn't, he's not. One thing leads to another and he's a good sample for that relation I guess.

 

[andora]

Good question, tough to easily answer. I guess he doesn't give his absolute all anymore? His all-in focus? Like mentioned before: he's no expectional player in any aspect but when he's on and in it during his successful srretches, he produces. Over his "rather unengaged" srretches, he doesn't score and might even be a negative player in your own end.

If he produces, he's dynamic. If he doesn't, he's not. One thing leads to another and he's a good sample for that relation I guess.

that's why i asked - i was curious if that poster was strictly reference offensive production which is not really what you should be expecting from harkins anyway. realistically does he play different on the wall in his own end in between scoring spurts?

 

[TimeZone]

Has some skill, worth the claim imo, no risk.

 

[heilongjetsfan]

Harkins feels like a fit for the Pens. If it was 15/16 again I'd probably say watch this guy score 50 pts, when the Pens kept getting guys up from the minors.

Honestly that's exactly the kind of player I always saw him as: not a ton on his own, but able to hang with high-end players and make contributions.

 

[66-30-33]

I like this guy, he did pretty good so far in pre season. He will be on line 3 for game 1 on Tuesday against the Hawks. Probably have a 3rd line of DOC-Eller-Harkins which seemed like an awesome line.

 

[biturbo19]

I’m not a Jets fan but what was really baffling to me was the laundry list of really crap bottom-6 guys Winnipeg were playing ahead of him. Gustafsson, Stenlund, Maenelainen, Gagner, and so on.

I wouldn't call Gustafsson and Stenlund really crap per se. But i think the whole thing was really more about wanting a particular role out of their bottom-of-roster role players. Building a bit of an "identity" for the team's depth. Big, defensive guys who can get to the net. Made a bit of sense to me.

Harkins is more of a utility tweener. Doesn't really do anything that stands out and can absolutely disappear in a lot of games.


Thought Harkins looked good in what i saw with the Pens so far. But whether he sustains that is another question entirely. It's also probably just a better fit for him in terms of role and fit. A utility filler guy makes more sense there.