The Puljujarvi Dilemma

Whenever a player or his agent is vocal about wanting a trade out of a specific market, there will be a pile of negativity and shade thrown at the player. Some will talk about never reaching his potential, people will dog him for his effort, and more will simply want him gone regardless of anything else simply for going public. Jesse Puljujarvi, through his agent Markus Lehto, went public this week with his desires to move on from the Edmonton Oilers after he was shuffled between Bakersfield and Edmonton, and never really had a chance to show off his scoring flair while being assigned to checking duties on the bottom two lines. While the demands seem reasonable based on Puljujarvi's expected ceiling when he was drafted, this problem has all sorts of layers that will make a trade nearly impossible.

Edmonton, who used the fourth-overall pick on Puljujarvi in 2016 will likely never see that return realized when one thinks about trading a top-ten pick to another team. Thus far, Puljujarvi has played 139 games in the NHL while amassing just 17 goals and 20 assists - he has more penalty minutes (40) than points (37) at this point in his career. Comparably, only Alexander Nylander of the Buffalo Sabres and Olli Juolevi of the Vancouver Canucks have less points than Puljujarvi from the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, but those two players have played a combined 17 NHL games. No one else in the top-ten of that draft have played less games or have less points than Puljujarvi outside of Nylander and Juolevi.

Last season, Puljujarvi spent most of his time on lines with Tobias Rieder, Jujhar Khaira, Milan Lucic, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins where he recorded four goals and five assists in 45 games. Contrast that to 2017-18 where Puljujarvi found time on lines with Lucic, Ryan Strome, and Connor McDavid - particularly in the second quarter of the season with McDavid - and his numbers jump up to 12 goals and eight assists in 65 games. Getting the right-wing slot alongside McDavid would help any player - Puljujarvi scored ten points beside him - bit it seems pretty obvious that Puljujarvi performed better as an offensive player than one slotted into a defensive role.

His work in Bakersfield has been better - 15 goals and 22 assists in 53 AHL games - but the Oilers aren't going to market Puljujarvi to other teams as a fringe NHL player after using their fourth-overall pick on him. The Oilers will want something somewhat tangible back if they move him. Otherwise, this was yet another swing-and-miss for the Oilers at the draft, and it's one they dearly needed to be better when one considers players like Matthew Tkachuk, Mikhail Sergachev, and Charlie McAvoy were all selected later.

Some have stated that other things overlooked by the Oilers may have contributed to the demand for a trade. There have been those on social media who have blamed the Oilers for not helping Puljujarvi get lessons in English, for his accommodations in Edmonton, and a handful of other behind-the-scenes items that could have played a role in Puljujarvi's lack of development, and some or all of these factors may be true. If they are indeed true, the Oilers and Puljujarvi own some of that responsibility in resolving these off-ice issues, and both sides deserve some blame in helping this chasm between player and team widen rather than closing.

In the end, if Puljujarvi's threat of playing in Europe is the only option for the Oilers, it might be the best option for both the player and the team. While Puljujarvi recovers from hip surgery - something to always keep an eye on - as he works out in Edmonton currently, the restricted free agent would remain under Edmonton control if he decides to go back to Europe. It would be wise for the Oilers to contact former Oiler Jari Kurri, owner and GM of Jokerit in the KHL, to see if there's room for Puljujarvi next season as this would provide open dialogue between the Oilers and Kurri regarding the progress of Puljujarvi.

For Puljujarvi, he would return to Finland and get a chance to play in the KHL which is something he has made clear that he intends to do. His development and recovery from the hip injury would be monitored by the Jokerit staff, and we saw this move benefit Kristian Vesalainen last year with the Jets. He didn't want to play with the AHL Manitoba Moose, opted to go to Jokerit through a clause in his contract, and was a much more effective player once he returned to the Moose after his KHL season. If the Oilers can see the same thing from Puljujarvi, perhaps they can salvage some value on the player if they still intend to move him or, possibly, find a spot in the top-six for the once high-scoring Finn who came to Edmonton with such fanfare.

The book certainly isn't closed when it comes to Puljujarvi in Oilers' colours nor is it closed on Puljujarvi being an NHL player. There are factors at play right now that could lead to his return in the near future, but it's going to take some work by Jesse Puljujarvi, his agent, and the Oilers to find the right fit for the player to succeed. Once that happens, the options for the Oilers become plentiful, and that's the best option for a player who wants to be in the best league in the world.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!