Edmonton Oilers scratch Jesse Puljujarvi for Tuesday’s game against Seattle Kraken

According to Oilers Nation’s Tyler Yaremchuk, the Edmonton Oilers will make Jesse Pulijujarvi a healthy scratch for the team’s game against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.

The news comes as Evander Kane returns to the lineup for the first time since suffering a gruesome wrist injury on Nov. 8 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Oilers placed Ryan Murray and Kailer Yamamoto on long-term injured reserve earlier to make cap space available.

For much of the season – and even farther back – Puljujarvi’s name has been involved in trade rumors, so the timing of the demotion to the press box is definitely intriguing. The 24-year-old Finnish winger has just four goals and 10 points, giving him a full-season pace of 18 points – a big step down from his 36-point output a year ago. Puljujarvi has played fewer than 10 minutes on six occasions this season, with his 12:46 average ice time being much lower than his 16:14 from 2021-22.

Pulijujarvi was taken by the Oilers fourth overall in 2016 but has struggled to live up to expectations. He has just 108 points in 304 games over six seasons, with a year-and-a-half stint with Karpat in Finland and a couple of AHL demotions in between.

Earlier today on Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli addressed what’s going on with the Oilers right now.

“I’m told the Oilers engaged in conversation with a couple teams about Jesse Puljujarvi and I think the conversations were actually pretty promising on that front,” Seravalli said. “Puljujarvi did generate some interest from a handful of teams around the NHL which is good news for the Oilers as it gets closer to the trade deadline.”

So, now the Jesse Puljujarvi trade rumors will only ramp up. It’ll be interesting to see how the Oilers move forward with one of their top young assets, and whether or not he’ll ever dress for them again.