NHL Notebook: Edmonton Oilers Jesse Puljujarvi looks to turn page, Oilers training camp lines, Ryan Ellis’ career may be over and more

Photo credit:© Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

1 year ago

Jesse Puljujarvi is ready to put the past behind him and turn a new page.

The 2020-21 season is just a think of memory for Puljujarvi now, who said Thursday this was his year to take a step forward in his game.

A fresh attitude for Puljujarvi is great to see. Despite having a tough second half of the year and playoffs, Puljujarvi as a whole was a very productive player for the Oilers finishing the year with 14 goals and 36 points — a 45 point per 82 game pace that firmly cements him as a top-six producer.

Still, the consistency would’ve been nice over the full season but a lower-boy injury and a mid-season bout with COVID-19 reared its ugly head.

Puljujarvi opened day one of training camp on a line with Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl, and if that’s not a signal of where the Oilers feel he could fit this year I don’t know what is.

Training camp lines…

Jason Gregor wrote this morning about the early session of training camp and the Oilers’ salary cap concerns. You can read about that here.

Gregor noted the following as the morning lines:

Hyman-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
RNH-McLeod-Foegele
Holloway-Malone-Virtanen
Chiasson-Hamblin-Philp/Petrov

Nurse-Wanner
Broberg-Barrie
Niemelainen-Demers
Peters-Kesselring

Campbell, Rodrique and Fanti.

Wanner is filling in for Cody Ceci.

And here, thanks to The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman, are the afternoon lines:

Kane-McDavid-Yamamoto
Janmark-Shore-Ryan
Schaefer-McKegg-Bourgault
Benson-Griffith-Esposito

Kulak-Bouchard
Murray-Samorukov
Kaldis-Kemp
Kielb

Skinner
Pickard

Sail on, Ryan Ellis?

Signs are pointing towards the end of the line for Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ryan Ellis. GM Chuck Fletcher told reporters Thursday he has been dealing with a torn psoas muscle.

Ellis has been out since Nov. 13, 2021 and the torn muscle, which from the lower spine through the hip, has caused significant issues to Ellis’ hip and core muscles.

Fletcher said Ellis is considered to be out indefinitely, and it’s unknown if he can ever return.

Here’s some of what DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli wrote about the injury:

Ellis’ injury is devastating. So little is known about the psoas muscle and given its location, it is largely inaccessible to surgically repair. His hip and hip adductors are also ailing, according to Fletcher. It took a long time last season to properly identify and diagnose the injury. Ellis is believed to have undergone exploratory procedures in an attempt to find relief, as the torn psoas muscle has had a significant impact on his ability to live a normal life away from the rink.

Ellis was acquired by the Flyers in a July 2021 trade for Phillipe Myers and Nolan Patrick.

Patrick out, too

Speaking of Nolan Patrick, he’s another player whose season is apparently being shut down. Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon said Thursday that Patrick won’t play at all this season.

Patrick has had issues with migraines in his pro career and has struggled to find consistency in the NHL. He played in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons with the Flyers, but missed the entirety of the 2019-20 season, before a 52-game campaign the following year.

In 25 games last year with the Golden Knights, Patrick scored two goals and seven points.

No Landeskog

The Colorado Avalanche will be without Gabriel Landeskog to start the season.

Landeskog underwent surgery last March to deal with a “nagging injury,” but returned for the playoffs where he scored 11 goals and 22 points in 20 games.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.

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