As a big fan of the Niku pick at the draft, saying he’s actually a 2nd-3rd round talent...

I think giving him a shot was the right move but he has 50 games of VERY bad results. https://twitter.com/pekkajalonen/status/1361377886012375040

To paraphrase @IneffectiveMath, teams are often overly cautious about playing youth who might be bad over players who are actually bad... but Niku’s little usage in the NHL has been making him look less like a might be and more like a probably is.

Put it this way... all 3 of his seasons are below Jets average for xG & Corsi +/- per hour, with 1 season being in the bottom 10 for Corsi and 2 seasons being in the bottom 10 for xG out of 107 player seasons.

I agree that there may be utility for Niku in the NHL in the right placement. I don't think Jets system works well for players like him and I think he may have usage as a PP specialist... but that's not how the Jets will use him. https://twitter.com/Byron_D11/status/1361382156883394562

If you look at public microstats, you'll see every Jet is below average for attempting zone exits, especially by skating out the puck. Some of that is a talent thing, but Maurice doesn't let the Jets defenders try to move the puck.
Options:
1) Short pass
2) Chip n out
3) Stretch