At the start of each new NHL season, teams are forced to make decisions on who to cut and put on waivers. As a result, the waiver wire is never quite as talented as it is in early October and savvy teams can find underrated players to fill out weak points in the roster.
Two players specifically stood out to me as waiver claims this week: the New Jersey Devils taking P.A. Parenteau from the New York Islanders, and the Minnesota Wild nabbing Teemu Pulkkinen from the Detroit Red Wings.
The two players are at completely different stages in their careers, with Pulkkinen attempting to become a full-time NHLer, and Parenteau a veteran coming off a solid reclamation year in Toronto after a tough season in Montreal.
While they’re at totally different stages, they both have a common criticism of their game: lack of speed. Neither Parenteau nor Pulkkinen are fast skaters, anyone who has watched them will tell you that, but I think often when evaluating players skating speed is conflated with effective speed.
A fast player is certainly an asset, but having speed and using it to your advantage are two different things. Players who may not be the fastest can compensate in other ways if they’re intelligent.
So how do Pulkkinen and Parenteau compare to the average NHL forward?
If a player’s lack of speed hinders their ability to get into scoring situations, causes them to lose races to loose pucks, or makes them unable to catch opponents on the forecheck, it’s certainly a problem. However, both these players have been above average almost across the board in their offensive games, with the only weakness being Parenteau’s controlled entry numbers.
Pulkkinen in particular is a strong scoring chance producer, which is likely why he ranks fourth among Red Wings over the past two seasons in goals per 60 minutes at even strength. He’s also a strong scoring chance generator for his teammates, but that hasn’t translated into assists yet at the NHL level.
What we can tell is that Pulkkinen’s perceived lack of speed hasn’t stopped him from creating offence at a better than average clip, entering the zone with control, or being a successful forechecker. While the Red Wings may have seen too many weaknesses in Pulkkinen to keep him in the lineup over other players, it’s pretty likely that he can find a way to be a decent contributor in Minnesota.
Parenteau on the other hand, isn’t quite the scoring chance producer Pulkkinen is, yet he is above league average, and he led the Maple Leafs in points per 60 minutes played at even strength last season, and was second in goals per 60 after James van Riemsdyk. Parenteau’s finishing ability is still very strong, and that’s an asset beyond scoring chance numbers as well.
A surprising strength of Parenteau’s is his forechecking, where he’s above average both in removing possession from opponents and winning loose pucks.
Clearly the Islanders weren’t expecting Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier to both make the lineup this season, because most teams wouldn’t waive a 20-goal scorer on a sweetheart deal like Parenteau’s. The Devils, a team that has lacked offensive talent for a few years now, should benefit from adding him, creating secondary scoring they didn’t have last year, after improving their primary scoring with the offseason addition of Taylor Hall.
