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When Jesse Puljujarvi fell to the Edmonton Oilers at 4th overall in 2016, people were saying that they were lucky to get a steal in that spot. He seemed like a star power forward in the making, as him and Patrik Laine were phenomenal for Team Finland. Two and a half years later though, he's yet to take off as an Oiler. In 100 games across three seasons, he has just 29 points. And tonight he will be a healthy scratch for the Oilers for the fourth consecutive game.
Given the Oilers history of being impatient with their young, skilled players, I have to ask the question: would they be willing to move on from Puljujarvi?
The Oilers are in a situation where they need to capitalize on having a young core and missing the playoffs any year that Connor McDavid is on the team is horrendous. They might be more incentivized to prioritize results
right now rather than down the road, and perhaps they can't afford to be patient with a prospect like Puljujarvi who is not performing. Even Oilers reporter Mark Spector had the same thought:
This is not a rumour and I have no idea if GM Peter Chiarelli would even entertain the idea, but considering how down they appear to be on him, it's at least interesting to think about. Pierre Dorion would also have to be interested in obtaining him if a trade were going to happen, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't.
The Senators and Oilers have long been connected in trade rumour talk, going all the way back to the nixed Dany Heatley trade. Zack Smith was rumoured to be close to being an Oiler, plus Eric Gryba was traded there in 2015. So I think the team's probably have a decent relationship with each other, and I do wonder if Dorion is at least making calls to Chiarelli about this situation.
As for what Ottawa would even be able to give up to Edmonton, the most obvious name has to be Cody Ceci. Bringing up Ceci's name in one-for-one trade talks has essentially become a meme nowadays, but I still think that there are some teams out there that would love to acquire him---and the Oilers are probably one of those teams. They have a knack for being unable to evaluate defense talent, much like the Senators.
The only bump in the road with this is that Dorion would probably not be willing to move his "first pairing" defenseman. Puljujarvi is still unproven, and it might look like a big risk for him despite the fact that Ceci has proven to be a third pairing defenseman (in quality) at best. Another thing is that the Oilers only have $5.5M in cap space, but that is with some LTIR maneuvering, so they might not be comfortable going so close to the cap.
The funny thing is that I would almost take anything for Ceci at this point, although the opposite is true for Dorion, so perhaps this scenario would never happen. If not Ceci then, it's hard to pinpoint what exactly the Senators could offer. I wouldn't want to necessarily move draft picks, but that is always an option. They could also offer players such as Chris Wideman, Christian Jaros, Alex Formenton, Colin White, Chris Tierney, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, etc. I'm sure Oilers fans would want somebody like Logan Brown or Thomas Chabot, but that wouldn't be happening. If Dorion changes his mind on Ceci though, he is the most obvious fit.
Puljujarvi hasn't been that impressive in the NHL, but he was fantastic in his draft season in the SM-Liiga (a mens league), where he scored 28 points in 50 games. Furthermore, in his first AHL season in 2016-17 he put up 28 points in 39 games, which is quite good for a 19-year-old. I'm not 100% convinced that he will end up being a quality top-six forward, but it is worth it to take the risk on him. Even though Nikita Filatov did not work out for the Senators, I loved that trade because all it cost them was a 3rd round pick and the potential upside was massive. I highly doubt it would only cost a 3rd round pick to get Puljujarvi, but any team that trades for him would certainly be getting him at his lowest point in value.
Taking risks is what is part of being a good organization. And the thing is, a trade for him might not even be that big of a risk depending on what the Oilers would want in return. If Edmonton is asking for the moon, then it's fine if Ottawa is not interested. But if they are at least entertaining the possibility of moving him, it could be a perfect time to strike.
I need to stress that the chances of Ottawa getting him are very slim, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if Puljujarvi was in a different organization by next season. Don't expect a trade to Ottawa to happen anytime soon (or at all), but I'm at least intrigued by this situation. I'm sure we will hear his name in the rumour mill a lot more.
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