Pittsburgh Penguins place Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers. If Puljujarvi clears on Tuesday, he’ll be assigned to the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Puljujarvi, 26, has appeared in 21 games for the Penguins this season, scoring three times, and adding five assists, for eight points. He’s averaging 11:36 of ice-time per game, and has been used on Pittsburgh’s second power-play unit.

Puljujarvi’s also landed 30 hits throughout his 21 appearances, while recording six blocked shots, and 34 shots on goal. He hasn’t played an AHL game since last season, when he dressed in 13 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, recording four goals, and nine points.

Originally a 2016 fourth-overall draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Puljujarvi signed a two-year, $800,000 AAV contract with the Penguins back in February. Unfortunately for him, inconsistent production has led to hitting the waiver wire, and now, the Pens give the other 31 teams around the NHL a chance at adding Puljujarvi to their roster.

A native of Alvkarleby, Sweden, the 6-foot-4 Puljujarvi enjoyed his best season during the 2021-22 campaign with the Edmonton Oilers, when he posted 14 goals, and 36 points in 65 games. He’d spend parts of six seasons with the Oilers organization, before appearing in 17 games for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022-23. While Puljujarvi played 13 AHL games last season, he hadn’t played in the minors prior since the 2018-19 season, when he dressed for four games with the Bakersfield Condors.

The Penguins enter 2025 with a record of 17-16-5 on the season. They’re 6-3-1 over the course of their last 10 games, and sit just three points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh currently has $2.5 million in cap space, and are at the limit of 23 active NHL roster spots filled.