Puljujarvi's career takes a crazy turn after being cut loose by the Penguins

Just when you thought Jesse Puljujarvi would return home to Finland to continue his hockey career and he goes and signs a new contact in the AHL!

Puljujarvi announced today that he has signed a professional tryout (PTO) contract with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers.

Check it out:

The Checkers added another piece to their forward group today, signing Jesse Puljujarvi to a professional tryout.

Puljujarvi, 26, began this season in the Pittsburgh organization, posting nine points (3g, 6a) in 26 games for the NHL club and three points (1g, 2a) in four games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The fourth overall pick in 2016, Puljujarvi has logged 127 points (57g, 70a) in 382 career NHL games for Pittsburgh, Carolina and Edmonton, as well as 49 points (20g, 29a) in 70 AHL games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Bakersfield. He also has 104 points (48g, 56a) in 143 games for Karpat in his native Finland’s top league.

The Checkers are preparing to kick off a two-game set at home this weekend that begins with a tilt against Hartford on Saturday.

Honestly... I'm not sure why I'm surprised. I've thought that Puljujarvi's NHL career was over about half a dozen times now... 

I should start bracing myself for the news that he has signed with the Checkers' affiliate Florida Panthers, it's only a matter of time with this guy!

The Pittsburgh Penguins are officially done with former first round draft pick Jesse Puljujarvi.

According to multiple reports, the Penguins have placed Puljujarvi on waivers today for the purpose of mutually bringing an end to his current National Hockey League contract. Puljujarvi was in the second year of a 2 year contract with an average annual value and salary cap hit of $800,000 per season, which does make this a somewhat curious move.

Puljujarvi's contract will now be ripped up should he make it through the waiver process without being claimed, and it seems extremely likely that will in fact be the case here. Puljujarvi was already on a very affordable contract and it seems safe to suggest that the Penguins would have explored the possibility of moving him in a trade prior to taking this step.

Puljujarvi has simply never been able to translate his game fully to the National Hockey League and has largely turned out to be a bust as a result. Puljujarvi was selected 4th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers but was never able to truly establish himself as a full time player on an NHL roster. He twice played 65 games as a member of the Edmonton Oilers but never got any closer than that to playing a full NHL season.

Puljujarvi had stints with multiple teams including the aforementined Penguins and Oilers as well as the Carolina Hurricanes, but was never truly able to find a role for himself regardless of what team he played for.

This most recent season saw him appear in 26 games for the Penguins in which he had 3 goals and 6 assists for a total of 9 points, picking up 10 penalty minutes along the way and boasting a plus minus rating of -1.

This contract termination is a mutual one which would suggest that Puljujarvi has a plan moving forward, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for him in his professional hockey career.