Confirmed with Link: Pulkkinen for future considerations

[rt]

A few quick questions:

1) Why not include him in the Hanzal deal?
2) Why not claim him on waivers?

I mean, we didn't give up anything here, so just confusing logistics.

In any event, nice body for the Coyotes or the RRs.

We didn't want him. Minnesota made us take him. We demanded he clear waivers before we took him. Just in case some other team spared us from the contract.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Does anyone else find it interesting that since Duclair was sent down to Tucson, the team has not played well at all?

I think that in the 15 games since he has been back there, Tucson has a total of 2 wins. Yikes.

In no way saying that he is directly responsible, but it does make you wonder if the same habits that he had in the NHL are surfacing in the AHL, and now your teammates have to cover for being out of position, poor puck handling, etc.

Seems like Pulkkinen can only help slide this tailspin that Tucson is on, and maybe he and Duclair push each other for that RW spot.

 

[ParisSaintGermain]

Does anyone else find it interesting that since Duclair was sent down to Tucson, the team has not played well at all?

It also coincides with Perlini joining the Coyotes; he was scoring many goals for RR.

 

[_Del_]

Yes. Duclair is obviously a cancer single-handedly destroying Tucson. I'm sure the constant recalls involving talented young players and the on-ice near-death experience has had little impact compared to the addition of that scourge Tony Duclair.

On the otherhand, I think he asked for a trade and they didn't give it to him. He tried to play his way out and engaged himself, and then they demoted him. I think he's mailed it in a bit, just like OEL and Doan and nearly everyone else who is stuck in this groundhog day style disaster of a franchise.

 

[Ebb]

Duclair probably doesn't care at this point as he is just going through the motions (in hopes that he is moved). He did well last season, but has struggled this season and been limited in terms of how he was used at the NHL level. I'm not sure where he's playing in Tucson, but he may have disrupted the chemistry a bit. I'm hoping they bring him back up and give him some more opportunities now that we have room. He may not improve, but at least he'll get a shot. I suppose we could always trade him for more picks too, since we're not interested in acquiring roster players.

 

[mouser]

I would be fine with signing him to a 2-way deal, see if he can do anything next season. Would not be all that enamored with a 1-way contract.

He's currently on a one year $812k 1-way contract. And had a 1-way last season as well.

Dunno if he would accept a 2-way deal though. Could easily see him bolting for Europe.

 

[BUX7PHX]

It also coincides with Perlini joining the Coyotes; he was scoring many goals for RR.

Pretty certain that Perlini has been up with the Yotes for far longer than Duclair has been on the Roadrunners (36 games with NHL to 15 in the AHL). Given the scheduling is definitely different, but Perlini was called up on Dec. 4th. Duclair was sent down on Jan. 19th.

Tucson had 11 wins in 17 games during the time when neither Perlini nor Duclair was there and Dauphin/Deangelo were sent down. 2 in 15 since Duclair went down to Tucson. My math tells me 7 wins in the first 16 games with Perlini only.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Yes. Duclair is obviously a cancer single-handedly destroying Tucson. I'm sure the constant recalls involving talented young players and the on-ice near-death experience has had little impact compared to the addition of that scourge Tony Duclair.

On the otherhand, I think he asked for a trade and they didn't give it to him. He tried to play his way out and engaged himself, and then they demoted him. I think he's mailed it in a bit, just like OEL and Doan and nearly everyone else who is stuck in this groundhog day style disaster of a franchise.

You can be smarmy or actually do your due diligence. Your choice, but its getting old.

I find it rather interesting that the team has struggled since that point. If he has given up, then move him. I didn't think that was the case, but certainly the numbers would suggest otherwise, as posted above. The team probably had a quick push when Perlini was called up, b/c they knew they needed to replace his scoring. Maybe the same happened where players thought Duclair would score, and the teammates expected him to be the scoring presence. Maybe Duclair's teammates in the AHL didn't help him and expected him to do everything.

We all don't know exactly what the story is with him. Maybe he was offered by the Rangers for a reason, and we are finding out about it now.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

You also can't put all of the lack of scoring on Duclair on him because the Yotes are playing him w/Gaudet at center.

You can look at Fischer's numbers with Gaudet and with Dauphin and you will see a completely different player.

The games i've watched in Tucson and at the NHL level Gaudet cannot catch the pass and keep the play moving. It basically gets stuck on his stick or turned over.

If they plan on ruining Duclair just keep him w/Gaudet, if they plan on getting him out of his funk, then they need to play him w/a Center who can get him the puck in scoring locations like Dauphin.

Problem is that Dauphin has Fischer on his RW and Duclair also plays RW and we currently don't have another quality center on Tucson's team, which is why they are dropping in the standings.

 

[BUX7PHX]

You also can't put all of the lack of scoring on Duclair on him because the Yotes are playing him w/Gaudet at center.

You can look at Fischer's numbers with Gaudet and with Dauphin and you will see a completely different player.

The games i've watched in Tucson and at the NHL level Gaudet cannot catch the pass and keep the play moving. It basically gets stuck on his stick or turned over.

If they plan on ruining Duclair just keep him w/Gaudet, if they plan on getting him out of his funk, then they need to play him w/a Center who can get him the puck in scoring locations like Dauphin.

Problem is that Dauphin has Fischer on his RW and Duclair also plays RW and we currently don't have another quality center on Tucson's team, which is why they are dropping in the standings.

Thank you for answering my question in a meaningful manner, with the context behind the information. Some of the stats for Tucson games are really bad or hard to find. As an example, the schedule on the Roadrunners site does not have dates for past games, only future ones. So I still had to go back and cross reference which games coincided with Perlini being up and Duclair being down.

So, as I was saying, it is hard to know what is going on without the context that you are providing, and I thank you for that. It sounds like Duclair is struggling with Gaudet as his C. Would Mueller be a better player for Duclair? (Mueller is listed as a C on the Tucson site). It is also interesting that if Mueller and Dauphin are the top Cs (Mueller leading the team in scoring, so I would assume that if he is listed as a C and plays there, he would be one of our top 2 Cs), even the Tucson coaches are basically putting Duclair on the 3rd line - is that b/c he needs to learn the defensive side of the game better?

 

[XX]

You also can't put all of the lack of scoring on Duclair on him because the Yotes are playing him w/Gaudet at center.

Wow, they must really hate Duclair to do that to him. Or they're clueless. Could be both!

 

[BUX7PHX]

Wow, they must really hate Duclair to do that to him. Or they're clueless. Could be both!

Well, that's what I think all of us are trying to figure out. Is coaching staff simply eff'ing with him? Has he literally played his way down to a weaker line in the AHL?

I did see that there were times when he was paired with Dauphin from twitter video feed and whatnot in the Tucson thread. He did at least have some points when paired with Dauphin, so was he not kept there b/c Fischer has simply outperformed him? Or has he checked out mentally?

I am not disagreeing on the possibility of both, b/c we can put this on the coaching tree - if Tucson is supposed to feed right into Arizona, then the system must be similar on some levels, right? So I could see that as Duclair was struggling with defensive play, and he is on the 3rd line in Tucson as a result. He could also just be more ineffective than other players, and caught in a logjam where he is the most talented on paper, but shows less and less of it on the ice...

I just have found it interesting that the decline has followed this far down, and I hope that this isn't the case, but is it possible that last season was his true peak?

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

I don't think Tucson has that many options.

Dauphin is the only quality center currently on the team...which is why the team struggles to score unless on the PP where the 'skill' they do have can take over.

Fischer and Bunting struggled all year w/Gaudet as their Center, and then when Dauphin was sent down is when Fischer began is meteoric rise in points, and it's not too hard to understand if you go watch any of the games. Gaudet is an awful center with terrible hands.

He's unable to keep the playing moving through the neutral zone and getting the guys the puck on the wing in odd man rushes, which leaves them to do a lot of dump and chase, and I can tell you both Bunting and Duclair aren't puck retrievers. Both would be close to PPG players with Dauphin at center guaranteed.

Here's a comparison for you Fischer:
w/Gaudet 15gp - 3 goals - 4 assists - 7pts - .47pts/game
without 28 games - 16 goals - 16 assists - 1.14pts/game

Here is Duclair's current line:
w/Gaudet 15gp - 1 goal - 7 assists - 8pts - .53pts/game

So it's not really a Tony D problem.

 

[BUX7PHX]

I don't think Tucson has that many options.

Dauphin is the only quality center currently on the team...which is why the team struggles to score unless on the PP where the 'skill' they do have can take over.

Fischer and Bunting struggled all year w/Gaudet as their Center, and then when Dauphin was sent down is when Fischer began is meteoric rise in points, and it's not too hard to understand if you go watch any of the games. Gaudet is an awful center with terrible hands.

He's unable to keep the playing moving through the neutral zone and getting the guys the puck on the wing in odd man rushes, which leaves them to do a lot of dump and chase, and I can tell you both Bunting and Duclair aren't puck retrievers. Both would be close to PPG players with Dauphin at center guaranteed.

Here's a comparison for you Fischer:
w/Gaudet 15gp - 3 goals - 4 assists - 7pts - .47pts/game
without 28 games - 16 goals - 16 assists - 1.14pts/game

Here is Duclair's current line:
w/Gaudet 15gp - 1 goal - 7 assists - 8pts - .53pts/game

So it's not really a Tony D problem.

Only one issue, and if you go to the Tucson thread, I thought there was a Twitter post from a game in February that had Duclair and Dauphin together. Could have been PP only, but your point is well taken. Dauphin at center helps us, but Gaudet has not been great. Especially with how each helps teammates. I think we will learn a little more with integrating Morin and Downing.

 

[Jakey53]

You can be smarmy or actually do your due diligence. Your choice, but its getting old.

I find it rather interesting that the team has struggled since that point. If he has given up, then move him. I didn't think that was the case, but certainly the numbers would suggest otherwise, as posted above. The team probably had a quick push when Perlini was called up, b/c they knew they needed to replace his scoring. Maybe the same happened where players thought Duclair would score, and the teammates expected him to be the scoring presence. Maybe Duclair's teammates in the AHL didn't help him and expected him to do everything.

We all don't know exactly what the story is with him. Maybe he was offered by the Rangers for a reason, and we are finding out about it now.

It's been getting old for the last year. Duclair has to get himself out of this funk. It has nothing to do with who he plays with as he had the same problem on the big club. It seemed like it was Domi or nothing. Like hbk said, he is feeling sorry for himself instead of giving that second and third effort.

 

[zerekstar]

It's been getting old for the last year. Duclair has to get himself out of this funk. It has nothing to do with who he plays with as he had the same problem on the big club. It seemed like it was Domi or nothing. Like hbk said, he is feeling sorry for himself instead of giving that second and third effort.

I agree. His future is kind of in his hands. If he doesn't fight through it, his career will soon be done. On the other hand, it seems a bit stupid for a coach to break up a winning duo unless the idea is not to win. Coaches usually play to the strengths of their players. You might tweak their talents but it is not normal to crush it. I do not see why the need to split him and Domi up. Yes it would be better if he could play as well with other players but if he can't, why not maximize what he can do?

 

[Wabit]

Wild fan visiting.

I liked Tiny Pokemon (stole it from Det's boards) when he was in MN. He just didn't fit anywhere in the lineup.

He has a big shot, but it's really slow, and needs lots of time and space is needed for him to get it off. He's not fast, but not slow. Small guy and he plays small. Okay stick-handler.

Overall I think his game (currently) is more suited to the big ice or lower leagues where he can get the time and space. He still has potential to be of use in the NHL, but he's a top-6 or bust. Lower lines just won't work for his game.

Not sure if he was part of the Hanzal trade, or it was Wild's GMCF just trying to do what's best for a player with no future within the organization. He has a history of letting players go for nothing (FCs) if it could help them out. AZ is probably one of the few clubs that can offer Pokemon the chances he needs to see if he can make it as a NHL player.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Tiny Pokemon (stole it from Det's boards)

Pulkkachu?

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Pulkkachu?

Good one!. We can have Pulkkachu Peak in the upper corner!

 

[Govment Cheese]

Good player when he has time and space. Once up to the Wings NHL players didn't let them have that. So, rushed shot were missing the net and a bunch of good setups he never got the shot off. See him bolting for Europe if he doesn't make out of camp next year. Good luck to Pookie.