CROSSING THE POND?
By Lowetide
7 years agoI don’t think there are many who believe the current state of affairs in regard to Jesse Puljujarvi makes a lot of sense. The Oilers are keeping him in Edmonton and not playing him much (24 of 36 games, 11:39 ATOI per game). Up until today, most felt (and management suggested) a trip to the AHL might be the next step. This morning, a new wrinkle appeared and could factor into things.
DO THE DRAISAITL
One of the pressure points of Puljujarvi’s situation is his contract. The first year of his entry-level deal is burned already, but there is a second shoe to fall: 40 games on the roster means Edmonton loses a year of RFA
rights. So, and this was exactly the case with Draisaitl, Edmonton could send him down at the end of the calendar year 2016 and not lose a year of RFA rights. Makes for the possibility of a bridge contract before the big one gets signed.
rights. So, and this was exactly the case with Draisaitl, Edmonton could send him down at the end of the calendar year 2016 and not lose a year of RFA rights. Makes for the possibility of a bridge contract before the big one gets signed.
The prevailing wisdom had Edmonton accomplishing that by sending JP to Bakersfield, but history tells us that European players often balk at the option. In recent times, we have seen Bogdan Yakimov head back to the KHL, Nail Yakupov and his agent agitate for a trade and the stories of Teemu Hartikainen and Toni Rajala are at least somewhat related to Puljujarvi this morning.
Why? This report:
- It’s hard to believe, but one of the most promising players in
the world Jesse Pulyuyarvi, for our edition, this winter could be in the
“Ak Bars”. Kazan look for options to strengthen the North American
market, and the young Finn is not always found himself in the
“Edmonton”. For both sides, this option would be beneficial: Pulyuyarvi
would get match practice in the second-best league in the world, and “Ak
Bars” would get excellent gain before the playoffs. The stumbling block
was the fact that the right to belong to the KHL Pulyuyarvi “Torpedo”,
drafted by Jesse last year. Kazan citizens would have to pay a
substantial compensation of Nizhny Novgorod. Source
From what I can decipher, the Ak Bars Kazan club reached out in an effort to acquire the KHL rights to Puljujarvi. This could have been a shot in the dark by the team, hoping for some luck an ‘off chance’ move where Puljujarvi’s agent suggested—and Edmonton agreed—time in Europe would be better than Bakersfield.
Or, perhaps these conversations have already happened and this story has legs.
We wait.
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