The Oilers surprisingly placed a former fourth overall pick on the trade market
Since their four-game sweep of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Final, the Edmonton Oilers are now looking back on their season.
Despite his team's strong playoff run this year, Oilers general manager Ken Holland will have his work cut out for him before the start of next season. Of course, there is the issue of Evander Kane, who many fans would like to see again next year, but also that of two other forwards, Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi.
Both will be free agents with compensation this summer and as Max Truman of Danslescoulisses.com reports, the Oilers may very well have to make a choice between the two.
And according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN, the Alberta team is leaning towards Yamamoto.
Puljujarvi, the fourth overall pick in 2016, will also be eligible for arbitration this summer, so he's likely to make a lot more than the $1.45 million he was making this season.
With Darnell Nurse's contract set to begin next season, the Oilers will have some important financial decisions to make in the coming weeks.
With this delicate situation brewing in Edmonton, could Kent Hughes make a call to Ken Holland to inquire about the availability of the Finnish forward?
It's possible, but it's worth mentioning that Puljujarvi is a pretty special case, having left the Oilers in the 2019-2020 season to play in Finland. This season, he had 36 points, including 14 goals in 65 games, but his production was rather low in the playoffs with only two goals and one assist in 16 games.
One thing is for sure, he is obviously on the trade market and could interest many organizations.
Here's a proposed trade:
| POLL | ||
Would you take the risk of bringing Jesse Puljujarvi with the Canadiens? | ||
| Yes | 179 | 55.6 % |
| No | 143 | 44.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
