Jesse Puljujarvi had a solid game on Friday, potting a goal and being dogged on the forecheck, all while playing smart defensively. The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Seattle Kraken in their final pre-season game of the year– one that most of the players categorized as not their best effort — but Puljujarvi’s effort level was noticeable. A player who has seen his name come up in trade rumors (and continues to), it might take solid performances like the one on Friday to keep him on this Oilers’ roster.
Puljujarvi Showed Up At the Right Time
The Bison King (as he’s affectionately known in Oil Country) hasn’t played poorly in the preseason, but he’s not necessarily stood out either. On Friday, he shifted the narrative a touch with an excellent effort against a much-improved Kraken roster. As Jason Gregor of TSN 1260 wrote, “Puljujarvi had his best game of preseason last night and it was against an NHL roster. Was very engaged and he made solid plays with and without the puck.” The question is, was it enough?
The Oilers need to get under the salary cap by Wednesday. In an effort to do so, they’ve already waived Mattias Janmark and Dmitri Samorukov. If both clear, the Oilers may have to do more juggling, while also carrying a short roster. Even then, the team is in tight and something might have to give. Puljujarvi is the easy fix, even if the market isn’t great for him.
His $3 million salary coming off the books fixes many of the team’s problems. Unfortunately, his leaving the roster potentially creates new issues. The Oilers aren’t exactly deep on the right side with Kailer Yamamoto a bit banged up and Warren Foegele the same, taking a top-nine winger with top-six potential off the team isn’t an ideal scenario.
The Trade Market For Puljujarvi Is Non-Existent
That the Oilers are conflicted about a Puljujarvi trade might not matter. According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the trade market for the winger is virtually non-existent. While a guest on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, the NHL insider said that teams simply can’t afford to take on Puljujarvi’s $3 million cap hit and because GM Ken Holland isn’t going to retain any of the forward’s salary in a deal, a deal isn’t there to be made. Seravalli added that this does not mean teams don’t want Puljujarvi, only that they can’t afford him unless the Oilers retain or take some salary back. Clearly, that’s not happening and the last thing the Oilers want to do is badly lose any trade they try to make.
It begs the question: what if there was a market for Puljujarvi? Would he be gone? Or, would a game like Friday’s give the Oilers even more reason for pause? There are certainly reasons to keep the player and he showed why against the Kraken, but cap concerns are cap concerns. Holland needs to decide which takes priority.
Puljujarvi Needs to Keep Impressing
John Shannon was on Oilers Now and when asked about his take on the Puljujarvi situation, he noted that the forward needs to show more to get the top-six opportunity or to get himself traded. These comments came just prior to Friday’s game where Puljujarvi was impressive. If it’s a trade the player ultimately wants, Shannon suggested performances like these are the way to get himself moved. In other words, Puljujarvi needs to create a trade market.
And, if he wants to stay and get the opportunities he was rumored to have suggested he deserved, Puljujarvi needs to keep showing up. The only way to become a mainstay on an offensively-gifted team like Edmonton’s is to prove you have the skill to keep up, but also the desire to outwork others.
