Oilers sign Jesse Puljujarvi to one-year, $3 million contract

Puljujarvi was a restricted free agent after the expiration of his previous two-year contract that carried a $1.175 million cap hit. There was some doubt as to whether or not the two parties would reach an agreement, with Puljujarvi’s name floating around in trade rumors. That still might occur, as signing the deal could make him more attractive to other teams.

Puljujarvi hasn’t exactly had the smoothest of careers with the Oilers. After he was selected fourth overall in 2016, he spent the next three seasons between the NHL and the AHL under Peter Chiarelli’s management in Edmonton. He wasn’t satisfied with how it was going in North America, so he went to Finland and played a couple seasons in the SM-Liiga before returning to the Oilers for the 2020-21 season.

Puljujarvi’s return to Edmonton has been met with scrutiny, mostly due to his lack of production. In 2021-22, he had 14 goals and 22 assists in 65 games after he had 15 goals and 10 assists in 55 games in 2020-21, all while primarily playing with Connor McDavid. A lot of that is due to a lack of finishing, particularly in 2021-22, where he shot just 6.87% at even strength. Whether that’s due to bad luck or poor finishing talent, we still need a bit more time to figure that out.

Despite the lack of production, Puljujarvi still brings plenty of value to the Oilers lineup, especially as a strong forechecker, play-driver, and defensive specialist in their top six. He had a 58.79% shot attempt share and 59.12% expected goal share at even strength in 2021-22, marks that both lead his team and ranked 18th and 17th in the league, respectively. It gives McDavid the luxury of focusing more on offense, which is exactly what you want McDavid doing.

With this signing, the Oilers find themselves almost $3 million over the salary cap, and still with restricted free agents Ryan McLeod and Kailer Yamamoto to sign. They’ve already had luck go their way with Duncan Keith and Mike Smith both retiring to help clear some space, but they’ll still need a bit more room if they want to fit everyone in, whether they move Puljujarvi or someone else like Tyson Barrie.