Oilers have "broached the possibility" of extending Puljujarvi: report
Jesse Puljujarvi might be hanging around after all.
The Edmonton Oilers have flirted with the idea of extending the frequently rumoured forward, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston.
“I think a lot of people, including myself, just assumed Jesse Puljujarvi was the odd-man out in Edmonton,” Johnston said on The Chris Johnston Show on Saturday. “I mean, it definitely looked and sounded that way that he would definitely be traded 100%. They are a team that’s going to have to create some room by moving a player out.
“But what’s interesting to me is I’ve heard that in recent days the Oilers have at least broached the possibility of extending Puljujarvi instead of just trading him. Possibly trying to get him to be signed to a cheaper extension beyond this year. He’s on an expiring deal, he’s a restricted free agent.”
It’s been speculated the Oilers would trade, or even waive, Puljujarvi in order to create more flexibility heading into the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3.
Edmonton has just over $500,000 in cap room available, and the 24-year-old, who has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 53 games this season, is a pending restricted free agent whose one-year, $3 million contract expires at the end of the season.
“I don’t think those talks went anywhere,” Johnston said. “I’m not sure where they stand at this moment. But a guy that just always seemed like his last day in the city, they at least broached the possibility of seeing if they could extend him. That’s pretty interesting, too, as we all look to see what moves the Oilers make to create cap space.
“Whatever they do, if it’s a big name or a small name, it’s basically money-in, money-out. Whether it’s someone like Warren Foegele or maybe it’s still Puljujarvi that’s the odd-man out, maybe it’s somebody else they’re trading…they have to remove money from that roster, but they’re at least seeing if Puljujarvi is willing to stick around. I don’t know if he is at this point, but I just thought it’s interesting they’ve had that discussion.”
A special weekend version of the "CJ Show" is live now, covering the #leafs/#stlblues trade, new names hitting the market and what's next for Patrick Kane?
Enjoy!https://t.co/4eFkukQHa1
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 18, 2023
Puljujarvi, who was a healthy scratch in back-to-back games coming out of the NHL All-Star break, was the No. 4 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
He has 108 points (50 goals, 58 assists) in 308 games over parts of six seasons in Edmonton.
Follow Channels and Categories