Given the current contract stand-off of want-away young winger Jesse Puljujarvi; would it be worth the Boston Bruins contacting Ken Holland?
When a player wants out, his team doesn’t exactly have a lot of room to move in terms of negotiating with other teams. The Boston Bruins could very much use this to their advantage with Edmonton Oilers’ youngster, Jesse Puljujarvi.
The Boston Bruins need a top-six option on the right wing; Jesse Puljujarvi could be that guy. There’s plenty of potential there, hence why he was a fourth overall pick for the Edmonton Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, especially when you see the success of guys that went after him – look no further than the fourteenth overall pick that same year; Charlie McAvoy.
Question here isn’t whether the Boston Bruins want to take a run at the player; safe bet is that you get him cheap enough, he’s worth the risk skill-wise; it’s the attitude that presents the risk factor.
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The player’s agent, Mark Lehto suggests it’s not financial, nor attitude in a recent TSN article; it seems the player just doesn’t fit with the group:
"“Although the Oilers have a new well-respected GM and a new coach, the team is still pretty much the same,” Lehto said in early July, as translated by the Edmonton Journal. “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit. This seems to be the case here. Nothing radical about it.”"
Now maybe this is where the Boston Bruins have a degree of appeal to the player. Given his Finnish background, you have to speculate that he should be able to get along with Tuukka Rask; maybe that could be a key selling point. If you can get Tuukka on-board, maybe he’ll take the youngster under his wing and provide some much needed mentorship.
What return would the Edmonton Oilers seek though; that presents the biggest stumbling block to any sort of transaction. Whilst it’s great to imagine that given a chance, Jesse Puljujarvi would fit perfectly on the wing of the second line, you can’t really imagine Edmonton wanting to lose a fourth overall pick for pennies.
As noted, the Boston Bruins hold the power in a negotiation given the player’s agent has been vocal about his client’s willingness to not play in the NHL if a trade isn’t made.
Finland’s MTV Sports reports Puljujarvi will return to Oulun Karpat, who he played for before being drafted fourth overall by the Oilers in 2016, in Finland this season if he is not traded – the player has clearly got his plans and intends to stick to them, forcing his NHL team’s hand.
Picture a deal though that works for both sides; maybe Ken Holland sees someone like Kevan Miller as an option. He can be buried salary-wise for some time due to his injured reserve status, offers some defensive output upon return and then the contract is gone within the year. Not an ideal scenario for the Edmonton Oilers but it holds merit.
Maybe you have to get creative and throw in some sort of conditional draft pick based on Jesse Puljujarvi and his performance for the Boston Bruins down the line?
What’s the worst that happens if Don Sweeney reaches out on behalf of the Boston Bruins and tests the waters for Jesse Puljujarvi; at best, we steal a talented right winger that could well be a top-six option. At worst, we get told to get lost on a low-ball offer and that’s that!