NHL Trade Deadline: Jesse Puljujarvi deserves a fresh start

With the NHL Trade Deadline on the horizon, it may be time for the Edmonton Oilers to part ways with forward Jesse Puljujarvi. The 24-year-old Finn, the 4th overall selection in the 2016 draft, has scored 51 goals in 310 NHL games for the Oilers.

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Which name are you looking forward to seeing get moved ahead of the deadline?

- Puljujarvi, man. Puljujarvi.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Jesse Puljujarvi.

- Give him a new start. I'm so-- I'm so sick-- I'm so sick of how he's talked about it Edmonton, like amongst specific like Edmonton media members. I'm so sick of it. Give the men a fresh start somewhere, I don't care where it is. And I hope he just-- I hope he just as an opportunity, has an actual opportunity, to restart and have like close to the career that we expected.

There was a time where like amongst European players in that draft, it was-- I think Puljujarvi was a time projected to go second overall. And then [INAUDIBLE] picked it up with his goal scoring. But that World Junior is like Puljujarvi re-snapped, man. And then when he fell to fourth, and Edmonton got him, it seemed like, wow, like Edmonton locked out in another high-scoring elite prospect. And it just hasn't gone well.

So like, yeah, Avery, you can probably talk about this more. But like I really hope that Puljujarvi get a start somewhere. And that Edmonton can actually get value for him. And they don't just lose them on waivers.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, they lose him on waivers for nothing, that's a shame.

AVERY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: There's an alternate timeline somewhere, where this franchise knew what to do with him from day one. Do you remember? With Puljujarvi. He was going up and down, up and down. [INAUDIBLE] what are you doing? Like [INAUDIBLE], but it was so bad.

[INAUDIBLE] didn't know what to do with the kid. He went back to Finland for a year. Wanted to trade originally. Was brought back, and it appeared like it was working well. But even with the glimpse of Jesse playing really well, the franchise doesn't know what to do with Puljujarvi. It's upsetting because if you was in an organization with management that knew what to do with him from day one, this wouldn't be an issue. It would not have been.