The closer we get to the December 1st deadline for Jesse Puljujarvi to get out of his contract with Karpat of the SM-Liiga, the more rumors we’re going to hear. Bob Stauffer had Elliotte Friedman on his show Friday morning and Stauffer asked the insider if the market was heating up to which Friedman more or less said that it was status quo. The market wasn’t heating up per se but the Finn is being watched closely. The Oilers Now host pushed a bit more and asked which teams were in on Pulju and if there were any new teams. Friedman said that St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Carolina were the teams he’d heard.
You can listen to the clip below.
Garrioch says the #Sens are looking at Jesse Puljujarvi. Mentions the ask is a 2nd round pick and a prospect. #Sens
— SensChirp (@SensChirp) October 26, 2019
I’ve heard all sorts of teams being interested in Puljujarvi from sources near and wide. Montreal, the Rangers, and of course, Ottawa. My problem with Garrioch’s comment here is that it’s not specific at all. A 2nd round pick and a prospect is a pretty general, and to be honest, a regurgitated take that we’ve been hearing since the trade request was made public. You’d think by now, there’d be some more specifics.
What I want to hear is what prospects Ottawa would be interested in including in such a deal. Are we talking about the unsettled Logan Brown, a big skilled center who had 42pts in 56 games for Ottawa’s AHL affiliate last season? Is Drake Batherson an option? He’s an emerging power forward who lit the lamp 22 times in the minors and score 62 points in 59 games. Both of those players were producing t a point-per-game rate at the time of writing.
I mean, a 2nd round pick from Ottawa could find itself in the early 30s. It might end up being more or less a 1st rounder come draft day. That means, the Oilers would possibly be looking at names like,
- Jake Neighbours – LW – Edmonton, WHL – Compared to Peyton Krebs.
- Jean-Luc Foudy – C – Windsor, OHL – Speed speed speed
- William Wallinder – D – MODO Jr, Sweden – Near PPG dman in the SHL junior league. BIG!
- Carter Savoie – LW – Sherwood Park, AJHL – Skilled playmaker making a mockery of the AJHL
- Vasili Ponomarev – C – Shawinigan, QMJHL – Predatory sniper.
This is what my proposal would look like if I were Oilers GM,
Jesse Puljujarvi, William Lagesson, and Cooper Marody
for
Logan Brown, Drake Batherson, and a 2nd round pick.
I really don’t feel like Lagesson and Marody have long-term futures with the Oilers and I’d like to cash in on them as well. The Sens might want a replacement of sorts for Brown and that’s where Marody comes in. Lagesson has been a fine partner for Caleb Jones in the past and I feel as if he’d be a nice one for a player like Erik Brannstrom. In addition to that, I reckon he’s probably a better player than Cody Goloubef.
Brown and Batherson are still eligible to be sent to the minors without having to hit waivers and that has some value to me in a deal like this. I like the roster flexibility.
I think Oilers fans would really appreciate Drake Batherson. He’s a meat and potatoes kind of player who works his ass off and get things done through work ethic. Played his minor hockey in Nova Scotia before ripping up the QMJHL. The stats above were from his rookie AHL campaign. He’s almost ready to be an everyday NHL player and I think he’s exactly the kind of winger Ken Holland is looking for in a deal for Puljujarvi. Someone who is closer to ready than not.
Logan Brown, to me, would be a great 3rd line center for Edmonton. He’s big, he skates well, he plays a 200ft game, but he’s also got great offensive vision, excellent hands, and knows how to use his body to his advantage. My vision would be to have him, Batherson, and Tyler Benson on a line someday getting cherry minutes and opposition. The scoring potential is mouth-watering.
Let’s be honest though, Pierre Dorion would be crazy to pull the trigger on that proposal. The players I want are Ottawa’s two best prospects that are as near-NHL ready as they’re going to be and as good as my man Pulju is doing and as much as I believe in him, there’s no guarantee he finds his game on a team like Ottawa. Then there’s the notion that he’d prefer a quiet American market (*cough* Carolina *cough*). I don’t know how true that is, but it’s out there.
Adding two more forwards to Edmonton’s stable might create a bit of chaos too.
That’s not to say I don’t think Ottawa and Edmonton could get together and make a trade, I’m just not sure if they could make one if Puljujarvi is involved. I know there’s major interest in JG Pageau and possible interest in Connor Brown and Chris Tierney. I imagine more will come out as the trade deadline approaches.
With all of that said, there’s no pressure on the Oilers to get a deal done at all. With the way they’ve started the year and also with how Puljujarvi is excelling for Karpat, it might be in Ken Holland’s best interests to hold on to the Finn’s rights and try to make a deal either at the trade deadline, depending on where the Oilers’ playoff hopes sit, or at the draft when there’s more flexibility to make a trade since the salary cap isn’t a factor. On top of that is Holland’s draft and develop model. So I don’t think we should expect fireworks from a trade front.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
