Did the Penguins Blow it with Juuso Riikola?

I was reading an article on another site when I noticed the forgotten name of a forgotten player.

Juuso Riikola.

According to the report, he’s been performing well in training camp thus far. It got me to thinking…always a dangerous proposition. Did the Penguins blow it with the young Finnish defenseman?

Step into the WABAC machine with me if you will to May 2018. A scant 10 days following our disappointing second-round ouster at the hands of eventual Cup champion Washington, then-GM Jim Rutherford inked Riikola to a one-year deal worth $925,000 in his first move of the summer.

FinnProspects had this to say about Juuso. “A very good, modern defenseman. High mobility, very good gap control, can play physical, very efficient with the stick. Also decent offensive game. No doubt he could be on Pens opening night roster next fall.”

A very succinct and accurate scouting report. Riikola, indeed, impressed with his all-around skill set and earned a spot on the team. After sitting out the first two games of the season, he made a rather auspicious debut on October 11, 2018, during a 4-2 win over Vegas. Replacing countryman Olli Maatta, the 24-year-old rookie logged over 18 minutes of ice time, blocked two shots and dished out four hits. Most famously, he laid a solid hit on Ryan Reaves and scrummed with the former Pens heavyweight…and lived to tell about it.

“We actually played against each other a lot in this game,” Riikola said afterward.

Even hard-to-please Mike Sullivan was complimentary. “I think you can see his intellect, his ability to process the game,” noted the Pens’ coach.

If that first game seems like the highlight of Riikola’s black-and-gold career, well it kind of is. In a paradox that seems somehow symbolic, his ice-time dwindled as his effectiveness improved. Although a plus-5 over his final 15 games, he became a consistent healthy scratch down the 2018-19 homestretch. There certainly was room for improvement…a five-on-five Corsi of 45.2 (which pretty much matched his offensive zone starts).

On the plus side, he dished out 86 hits and blocked 38 shots in 37 games. Rutherford thought enough of the youngster to re-sign him to another one-year deal, albeit at a slight drop to $850,000.

“Juuso has adjusted to the North American style of hockey seamlessly,” said assistant general manager Bill Guerin. “He’s a very confident guy, and he’s also a great skater that moves the puck really well. We expect him to make an even bigger impact this year.”

Stat-wise, Riikola’s sophomore season pretty much mirrored his rookie campaign. Often paired with veteran Chad Ruhwedel, he skated in one less game (36), tallied two more points (7) and logged the same plus-minus (plus-3). His hits and blocks (74 and 24 respectively) dipped slightly. The biggest drop occurred in his average ice time, down to 13:53 from his rookie-season mark of 16:41.

Rumor had it Sullivan and the coaching staff didn’t trust him in his own end. Yet, the 6’0” 189-pounder paced the team’s top eight defensemen in several advanced metrics, including Goals For%, xGF%, Scoring Chance%, High Danger Scoring Chance% and On-ice save%. He finished second in CorsiFor%.

Heat charts showed the puck stayed away from the Pens’ net when Juuso was on the ice. While it should be noted that he received sheltered minutes, the bottom line is he did his job, and darn well, when given the opportunity.

Probably why Rutherford inked him to a two-year extension on September 5, 2020, at an annual cap hit of $1.15 million. When announcing the deal, JR hinted at being mystified by his use…or more accurately misuse…by the coaching staff.

“He’s done a good job when he’s gone in,” Rutherford said. “I like him. I like him as a person and a player. Maybe this year, he gets more playing time and we can assess him a little more. But he’s a capable NHL player.”

Unfortunately, 2020-21 would prove to be a lost season for the native of Joensuu, Finland. A healthy scratch in the season-opening losses at Philadelphia, Riikola replaced Mike Matheson for games three and four (both wins) against the Capitals. Alas, he suffered an undisclosed injury and remained on IR for nearly two months. New GM Ron Hextall waived Juuso on April 10, but there were no takers. Two days later he was moved to the taxi squad and didn’t play again for the rest of the season.

Sullivan’s comments seem to reflect his ambivalence toward the Finnish defender. “Juuso had an opportunity early in the season. He got hurt, which was unfortunate. And, obviously, we’ve got a number of NHL defensemen here right now.”

With pricey veterans Matheson and Marcus Pettersson presently ahead of him on the depth chart, not to mention youngster Pierre-Olivier Joseph, it’s hard to imagine Riikola getting an opportunity to re-establish himself and resurrect his career barring a tidal wave of injuries.

In my book, a muffed opportunity to develop an affordable third-pairing defenseman who possesses a decent array of skills and attributes.