Jesse Puljujarvi was often one of the fan favourites of the Edmonton Oilers during his tenure with the team from 2016–17 until his trade out of the city in 2022–23. However, despite his status as a fan favourite, he often found himself at odds with the organization over his utilization and development path, leading to a stretch in 2019 and 2020 where he left the team and returned to Finland.
Although his development curve may not have followed the hype that originally surrounded the former fourth overall pick, he did carve out a solid niche for himself in the NHL. A role he has continually filled well and, from an outside perspective, done everything asked of him. He may not have all the offensive production one might expect but his role as an aggressive defensive and checking forward with amazing underlying numbers is one that he performs well in.
It is a surprise to almost any fanbase he plays in front of why Puljujarvi struggles to stay in a lineup. This season is no exception. Puljujarvi, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, has been held out of the lineup on many occasions, much to the confusion of the Penguins’ fanbase online as he typically performs better and has a stronger impact on the game than the players in the lineup above him.
This saga seems to be nearing a close on Monday, as Puljujarvi was placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Puljujarvi (PIT) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 30, 2024
Given how fond of Puljujarvi the Oilers fanbase are, it did not take long to begin campaigning for a reunion between him and the team. But the real question is, should the Oilers claim Puljujarvi?
Why the Oilers should claim Puljujarvi
Reuniting with a fan favourite
Puljujarvi had a ton of goodwill amongst the fanbase. He was always good for a memorable interview, video clip, or picture. It’s where we got to know his love for post-game pizza. It’s where we learned about his nature-loving side when taking pictures with bison. He has good vibes and fun around his public facing persona.
Additionally, his on ice play is the exact type of game that us Oilers fans will attach to and value. Hard nosed, physical, aggressive, and creating chances are all things that will endear someone to Oil Country. Puljujarvi did that every time he was on the ice.
He was someone the fanbase attached to and a lot of us would like to see him back in an Oilers jersey, knowing he could provide an extra edge and some speed to the lineup.
Underlying numbers, impact on game
Puljujarvi’s underlying numbers have always been a bit better than his production would suggest. He is typically someone who produces well in the roles he gets and with the ice time he receives. His utilization is usually defensive roles, he does not get a lot of high quality offensive opportunities. But, he still maintains positive possession numbers, with a 51.2 Corsi for percentage and 52.2 expected goals for percentage (according to Natural Stat Trick). The actual numbers are a bit worse, with a sub-50 in shots for percentage and goals for percentage, as a result of the utilization and quality of linemates.
But, even with that in mind, he finds ways to contribute and be an important part of his team’s offence.
Jesse Puljujarvi has been waived.
— ChelPenguins (@ChelPenguins) December 30, 2024
He hasn’t seen the ice since Dec 7th, before that, this is where he ranked among pens’ fwds:
• TOI/60: 12th
• Assists/60: 5th
• Points/60: 5th
• Rush attempts/60: 2nd
• xGF/60: 5th
An impactful speedy, physical winger got hosed by Sully
There is a good player here for a team that can give him the right role and actually trust him within that.
Cap space
The Oilers are in a massive cap crunch this season, especially hitting trade deadline season when they will have some roster holes to fill. Quite simply, Puljujarvi only makes $800k this season. Someone like Jeff Skinner, sitting as a healthy scratch and barely playing 12 minutes per game when he is in the lineup, makes $3M. They can save all of that cap space that can go towards bringing Evander Kane back or making another trade.
Why the Oilers should not claim Puljujarvi
The organizational fit for Puljujarvi is not right
The biggest and most significant reason the Oilers should not claim Puljujarvi is the impact on the depth. Sure, moving into a playoff run it never hurts to have more NHL calibre players. Especially ones like him, who can combine skating, puck possession, and physicality to create an amazing bottom six forward for playoff hockey. But, looking at the roster and the logjam of players in and around those roles, there isn’t really a place for him that would be an improvement over what his role was and has been in the past.
There is no spot for him in the top six right now, those lines are fairly set. Especially the top line. If Kasperi Kapanen slows down, Leon Draisaitl may need another winger, but from a line composition perspective, that would clash with Vasily Podkolzin, who plays an incredibly similar style as Puljujarvi. In fact, in practice today Kapanen dropped to the fourth line and Viktor Arvidsson took his place along Draisaitl.
That leaves him almost certainly in the bottom six. There is already an overabundance of options at times. At right wing, the Oilers have Connor Brown, Corey Perry, and Kapanen already competing for the same spots.
This is a situation that will be made even worse when Evander Kane returns from injury. Jeff Skinner is already the healthy scratch over Derek Ryan, and Noah Philp is making a push from the AHL to return to Edmonton, for good this time. Both Ryan and Philp can and will play wing when needed.
Needless to say, Puljujarvi would have to outplay numerous other options and provide something that all of those players do not. Which, unfortunately, he hasn’t done. His offence is no better than anyone else playing in those roles.
The relationship between Puljujarvi and the Oilers from his first tenure with the team
There was no hiding the, at times, strained relationship between player and team the first time Puljujarvi was an Oiler. He very often got poor opportunities to showcase his talent, few chances for development, and despite playing well in the roles he was given, nothing he did seemed to really be the right thing in the organization’s eyes.
This difficult dynamic was a major factor in his return to Finland after his first three NHL seasons. Although he had his most productive seasons upon his return to Edmonton, it seemed as though the organization had made up their mind on him and he became the expandable part of the roster when they needed to free up cap space.
Given how this dynamic went and ended the first time, would he even want to come back to Edmonton?
Should the Oilers claim Puljujarvi?
As much as it pains me to say because I would love for him to be back in Edmonton, the Oilers should not claim Jesse Puljujarvi.
The Oilers don’t need another depth forward who has trouble scoring. His physicality and playstyle would be fantastic additions to the bottom six, but if Edmonton brings him back into the fold, he will just end up in the same role he was in before that the organization did not value. And now, despite them playing on different lines, they also have Podkolzin who fills a similar style of play, ahead of him in the depth chart.
The biggest appeal and reason for making this move is to free up cap space in a subsequent move, trading away a more expensive player. If that is their entire intention, then they should make this move. They know exactly what they will get from Puljujarvi and he would be far more suited to the bottom-six grinder role than Jeff Skinner or Ryan. They could make this move solely to free up cap space.
But from the perspective of building the lineup for a playoff run, there are other holes to fill that should be prioritized.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
