When Jarmo Kekalainen passed over dynamic Fin Jesse Puljujarvi, in favor of selecting QMJHL standout Pierre-Luc Dubois, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was salivating at the thought of adding the former Karpat forward.
In Puljujarvi's first run with the big club, he was held to a minuscule 8 points in 28 contests, resulting in a demotion to AHL Bakersfield, where he was expected to focus on his development.
During the 2017-18 season, the native of Alvkarleby, Sweden would play 65 games with the Oilers, but was limited to a mere 20 points over that span. Respectable for a rookie, but a far cry from the production the Oil were expecting from the top 5 draft pick in 2016.
In 2018-19, Puljujarvi showed signs of regression, posting just 9 points through 46 NHL games, but would ultimately wind up back in Bakersfield before retreating back to SM-liiga, rejoining Karpat to attempt to find his game again.
Puljujarvi has done just that, having recorded 24 points in 24 games with Karpat this season.
Despite being the target of much trade speculation, even going so far as to request a trade out of Edmonton, it appears as though Puljujarvi has come out of his funk and has begun to regenerate some value.
The catch 22 here is that Puljujarvi is still without an NHL contract with the December 1st deadline looming.
If Puljujarvi wants to play in the NHL this season, he must sign a contract on December 1st before 5pm ET. It will be interesting to see if Puljujarvi follows suit with Toronto's William Nylander, who signed a deal moments before the Dec. 1st deadline or if he simply decides to play with Karpat for the remainder of the year, foregoing the opportunity to return to the NHL this season.
