September 25, 2019 /

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Puljujarvi Trade Talk is Heating Up

Just before we get into these rumors regarding my favorite Finnish hockey player, I’d like to see Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland exercise even more patience with this deal. I feel like the rumored offers are getting a bit better as we come closer to the start of the NHL season and I wonder if they’d improve further the more he waits?

How’s he doing over there in Finland? Well, let’s take a gander at a couple of highlights.

I’m still holding onto the slim possibility that he returns to the Oilers… I think the new style of play that Coaches Tippett and Playfair are attempting to implement would really compliment Puljujarvi’s style of play.

Puljujarvi Trade Market Heating Up

A Montreal Canadiens blog is reporting that the Oilers offered up Jesse Puljujarvi for Artturi Lehkonen and Xavier Ouellet but it was rejected by Habs GM Marc Bergevin. Apparently there are quite a few teams interested in Lehkonen and Bergevin wants more in return for the Finn.

I get asking for Lehkonen, he’d be a good middle-6 forward for the Oilers, but the only reason I can think of for the Ouellet ask is that Ken Holland wants a guy on the AHL club to provide stability and leadership.

The Frenchman was drafted by Holland’s Red Wings in the 2nd round back in 2011 but Ouellet couldn’t force his way onto the Red Wings full-time and was eventually bought out. He then signed a two-way with Montreal in 2018/19 but didn’t spend much time there. He spent the majority of the year captaining their AHL club in Laval.

Don’t the Oilers have enough defensemen in Bakersfield now that Evan Bouchard has been sent down?

I can’t speak to the legitimacy of this blog but the rumors of the Canadiens being interested in Pulju have been non-stop for some time now.

Then there’s this…

Now, THIS is the kind of trade I’m talking about if the Oilers are looking to move Puljujarvi. Work something out to improve the team now, not a few seasons from now. By the looks of that 2nd line vs. Arizona last night, they could probably use a guy like Drouin instead of a Gagner or Nygard. Of course, a trade like this would require more than just Pulju. I’m just saying that a deal built around him and Drouin would be something worth investigating.

Fallout from the Justin Faulk Trade

Would you have traded Kris Russell, Kailer Yamamoto and a draft pick for Justin Faulk and another pick? Not that it was a realistic trade scenario, bringing Faulk in I mean. Bob Stauffer said on his radio show that Faulk wasn’t going to sign a long-term deal with a team in Canada…

Mind you, if there is a deal out there where the Oilers could upgrade their defense and the cost is Russell, Yamo, and a pick; I’d hope Holland is right in the mix.

I wasn’t expecting the St. Louis Blues to be the team that would trade for Justin Faulk. I thought they had a nice looking group of defensemen that didn’t need a lot of tweaking, but I guess I was wrong.

Doesn’t it feel like they overpaid for Faulk on both the trade and the contract? I mean, who pays a 35pt defender $9M (I know his AAV is $6.5M/yr) to play on the 3rd pair?

I hope getting sheltered on the 3rd pair and getting cherry TOI sees an increase in Faulk’s production or else this deal might be one the Blues regret.

Joel Edmundson will help out the Hurricanes’ back-end, shore up the defensive aspect and provide some sandpaper and toughness and Dominik Bokk gives the Canes ANOTHER nice-looking prospect who will percolate in Europe before joining the organization next season at the earliest.

From what I’ve read online, Carolina was looking for another right-shot winger for their system and Bokk helps fill that void, but my question is, does that take the Hurricanes out of the running for Jesse Puljujarvi?

Speaking of righties in Carolina! Julien Gauthier is apparently having a good camp so far but I’m still not convinced it’d be in the Oilers best interests to trade Jesse Puljujarvi for him.

What about this idea from Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts though?

Do you remember this player from the World Juniors last year? He made a bit of a scene after losing to the US in the semi-finals as the captain for Russia.

He’s a big centerman (6’3″ 212lbs) that’s been marinating in the Blues’ farm system for the last two seasons. Stats-wise, he hasn’t exactly hit it out of the park though,

  • 2017/18 – 67gp 6g 22a 28pts 72PIM -6
  • 2018/19 – 66gp 10g 14a 24pts 102PIM -28

At the time of writing, Kostin has six points in four preseason games. He was pretty average in his most recent performance vs. Dallas though. Perhaps he’s simply been lucky enough to square off against some inferior opponents to date and capitalized on that opportunity.

Look, the reality is with this player is that he’s got middle-6 center written all over him. He’s skilled, has a big body, plays physical, and he’s a passionate leader to boot. Then there’s the Russian factor… I know I know… It’s dumb. But for whatever reason, it’s a thing in Edmonton. If we’re lucky, the Ken Holland era will find a way to get rid of this supposed “curse”.

Do you think that this trade would’ve been made already had Colby Cave not stepped up?

Then we have this coming out of Vancouver,

Virtanen for Puljujarvi? I’m still a bit leary of this kind of trade. I like Virtanen when he’s on his game but that’s the thing, when is he on his game? Who would he replace on the Oilers wings if he were acquired?

What Happened in Russia with Craig MacTavish

Former Oilers head coach and GM Craig MacTavish’s coaching tenure in the KHL lasted a whole eight games before his club decided to cut ties with him. I haven’t been able to confirm if the dismissal was performed in person or over Skype but I was sent a DM regarding why he was let go.

If you listened to Oilers Now yesterday, you might’ve heard host Bob Stauffer comment on the firing. At one point he said that he knew MacTavish could be hard to work with sometimes and from what I’ve gathered from sources close to the team, MacTavish went into that KHL job very much in the same way Dallas Eakins came into Edmonton back in the day.

“He behaved like he was the smartest guy in the room.” is what I was told.

That’s too bad that it didn’t work out for MacT. Reckon he regrets bolting out of Edmonton so quickly after Holland was hired? Best wishes to him going forward.

What do you think about these new Puljujarvi rumors? It seems like the rumored returns for him have gone from MAYBE a 2nd round pick to players like Alexander Volkov and Julien Gauthier to Klim Kostin and Artturi Lehkonen. Could the return get even better with just a bit more patience? Maybe.

Let us know in the comments below what you think of it all!

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CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL Rumors

TagsCraig MacTavish Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers Rumors Jesse Puljujarvi Justin Faulk NHL

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!