Jesse Puljujarvi's NHL fate has been determined

UPDATE: Jesse Puljujarvi has cleared waivers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward was available for any of the NHL's other 31 teams to make a claim on him for free and they all passed. It's expected that he'll now be assigned to the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Read below for yesterday's report on Puljujarvi, published by Hockey Feed staff writer Jonathan Larrivee.

In spite of numerous chances on numerous teams, it continues to be the case that former 4th overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi simply can't find a consistent spot for himself at the National Hockey League level.

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins made the decision to place Puljujarvi on waivers after he appeared in 21 games for them this season, scoring 3 goals and 5 assists for a total of 8 points on the season. Puljujarvi also has 8 penalty minutes on the season and currently boasts a plus minus rating of -2.

Puljujarvi was selected 4th overall by the Edmonton Oilers at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, ahead of players like Matthew Tkachuk, Clayton Keller and Charlie McAvoy just to name a few, but in spite of his draft pedigree he has never appeared in a full NHL season since being drafted. Puljujarvi has played for the Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Penguins but for one reason or another can't seem to maintain a spot on an NHL roster for any significant length of time.

His best season arguably came during the 2021-22 NHL regular season where he had 14 goals and 22 assists for a total of 36 points over 65 games as an Edmonton Oiler.

The question now is whether or not there will be a fourth NHL team willing to take a chance on Puljujarvi, perhaps believing that they can unlock the potential that the Oilers once saw in him when they drafted him so high, and that certainly isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Puljujarvi is currently in the second year of a 2 year deal which would make him a relatively low risk pick up on an expiring contract and he also has a very modest cap hit at just $800,000 per season.

Would you want your favorite team to submit a claim for this player? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.