Jesse Puljujarvi's days as an Edmonton Oiler appear to be numbered, according to team reporter Tom Gazzola.
Gazzola, speaking on The Oil Stream Podcast, said that it isn't just the team who believes a change may be best, but the player himself. After a great start to the 2021-22 campaign, things dropped off in a big way for Puljujarvi at the mid way point of the season, fueling plenty of trade rumors which are still ongoing.
«The topic of fresh start is coming up again,» Gazzola said. «And it's not the Oilers just saying, ‘We're done with
Jesse Puljujarvi.' I think there's kind of a mutual understanding there that both sides are ok with moving on It's not, ‘Hey, they need him to play with skilled players.' It just feels like it's time to move on and everybody kind of agrees.»
As Gazzola alluded too, this isn't the first time there has been friction between the Oilers and Puljujarvi. The 2016 fourth overall pick grew frustrated with the organization during the 2018-19 campaign and chose to spend 2019-20 playing in his home country of Finland. However, he returned for the 2020-21 season, and it appeared things had been patched up, at least temporarily, though that may no longer be the case.
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Gazzola went as far as to suggest that, while by no means a problem in the dressing room, he hasn't really fit in with his Oilers teammates, which could play a part in why he too is fine with a change in scenery. At times, the 24-year-old has shown glimpses of what could be a very good NHL player, but consistency has remained an issue. Perhaps a fresh start will prove to be what he needs for his career to blossom.
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