Surprising contender gets serious about acquiring Jesse Puljujarvi!

Jesse Puljujarvi’s ears have to be buzzing with the amount of times his name has come up in the trade circles. The Edmonton Oilers have been looking for months to trade Puljujarvi, and the move would certainly help the team to get some cap space in order to make significant changes ahead of the trade deadline.

The problem is: Puljujarvi’s value. The Oilers are hoping not to have to give up a sweetener in order to get rid of his contract. However, the NHL forever podcast reports that one team might jump into the Puljujarvi quiet sweepstakes since one of the star players sees something in the Finnish forward.

Per the NHL forever podcast, Colorado Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen was asked around last year’s trade deadline about acquiring Artturi Lehkonen from the Montreal Canadiens. Rantanen thought his Finnish countryman would be a fit in the Avs’ dressing room, and we see that he was right.

It now sounds like he has a similar feeling about Puljujarvi, who could be brought in by GM Joe Sakic.

For the time being, the Oilers haven’t found a trade involving Puljujarvi that works for them. This one could be it, especially with many players landing in the infirmary in Colorado.

Puljujarvi has been quite limited offensively, scoring just five goals along with seven assists in 53 games, but could benefit from a change of scenery, especially if he is mentored by fellow countrymen Rantanen and Lehkonen.

It remains to be seen if the Oilers can get the type of return they were hoping for from someone carrying a $3MM cap hit.

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