Jesse Puljujärvi's fate may have been decided

Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujärvi hasn't been putting up the kind of numbers that his team would like to see from him this season, and has been the subject of numerous trade rumors. With the NHL Trade Deadline on the horizon, there has even been speculation that the Oilers could simply elect to part ways with him via the waiver wire.

And according to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston, that's a distinct possibility. 

"With Kailer Yamamoto pretty ready pretty soon here to come off LTIR and what that means for the Oilers is there's going to have to be a corresponding move," Johnston said on Insider Trading Thursday. "And one thing I like to keep an eye on is what happens here with Jesse Puljujarvi. He was scratched coming out of the All-Star break. Of course, there has been sort of on-again-off-again trade discussions around this player going back a couple of years now. And despite some of the struggles he's had this year, I still think there is some interest in Puljujarvi.

"It's even possible maybe we see him put through waivers. Because if that happens, I think he's a more tradable chip because you'll be able to go up and down between the AHL in the NHL. So, whether it's Puljujarvi or someone else, the Oilers have to make some moves."

It would certainly make sense for a fresh start for both sides involved, especially given the fact that Puljujärvi still has plenty of potential to be the kind of impact player in the NHL that the Oilers envisioned when they made him the 4th overall selection in the 2016 Draft. 

In 308 career games, all spent with the Oilers, Puljujärvi has scored a total of 50 goals along with 58 assists for 108 points along with a career +5 plus minus rating. He's currently playing on a one year contract that carries a cap hit of $3 million.