Earlier this summer, forward Jesse Puljujarvi avoided arbitration when he signed a one-year contract worth $3 million with the Edmonton Oilers. It didn’t take long for his new deal to land him back on the trade block with several insiders adamant that Puljujarvi’s new contract could make him easier to trade.
There is no doubt that Edmonton needs to make room on the cap, despite putting sidelined players Oscar Klefbom and Mike Smith on long-term injury reserve for the coming season, and Puljujarvi’s name has been mentioned several times in trade circles.
On Tuesday, team insider Ryan Rishaug of TSN explained how the Oilers were still exploring the options of moving Puljujarvi.
“Continuing to pursue all trade options for Puljujarvi - the most obvious move to clear out some cap space. If it doesn’t happen they can still start with what they’ve got but it’ll be razor thin margin budget-wise and could cause issues later in season…”
Fans got upset pointing out how the Oilers had elected that Puljujarvi would be going to the Kings of the North at the Grant Fuhr Arena on Saturday to drop the puck and sign autographs at our home opener!
One of many claims: ”Puljujarvi going out of his way to sign autographs for fans and the Oilers are thinking about trading this guy? An absolute disgrace.”
Puljujarvi has heard his name in trade chatter for several seasons now and we get that he might not even be upset about the weekend’s event and just go about his business as usual.
However, the fanbase is noticing and this may also be a sign that the fans are growing impatient to see what move(s) will be made in order for the Oilers to be cap compliant for 2022-23.
