Canadiens Kicked Tires On Puljujarvi, Could Rekindle Talks Soon

The Montreal Canadiens are in the business of buying low and selling high, which is why they’ve kept their eye on Jesse Puljujarvi for some time now.

Prior to the Edmonton Oilers finally deciding to sign their young forward to a one-year deal in the summer, the Canadiens were interested in adding a potential reclamation project to their ranks.

Montreal Hockey Now reported in August that the Montreal Canadiens had shown interest in Jesse Puljujarvi, as they are looking to take on more “buy low”  projects, and this could be a perfect opportunity.

According to one NHL executive with knowledge of the NHL trade talks involving Puljujärvi, the Montreal Canadiens did their due diligence on the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft during the draft at the Bell Centre during the 2022 NHL Draft.

When a deal couldn’t be brokered, the Canadiens turned their attention elsewhere and eventually acquired Sean Monahan from the Calgary Flames.

But their interest in the player remained.

Puljujarvi On The Move

On a recent segment of 32 Thoughts, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman brought up the ongoing situation with Puljujarvi in Edmonton, pointing to a trade being evermore likely in the not-so-distant future.

“There was a conversation at the beginning of the season between Puljujarvi and the team where it was decided that, if things didn’t go well, the Oilers would try to move him,” said Friedman on the plan for Puljujarvi. “I do think that’s going to happen, but I don’t know what the timeline is going to be. Edmonton is still banged up at forward and the Oilers don’t have a salary cap issue until Evander Kane comes back.”

On a recent episode of the Got Yer Back podcast, TSN reporter Ryan Rishaug has The Athletic’s Arpon Basu on to talk about the obvious fit Joel Edmundson would be on the Oilers’ blueline and what it would cost to get him in Edmonton.

One of the players that they believe could go back in such a deal would be Puljujarvi, who would not only help to even out the money for the Oilers, but could be an interesting bottom-six option for the Canadiens to work with going into the end of the season and into the 2023-2024 season.

They speculated that Puljujarv would need to come with another asset, which makes sense from a value perspective, as Puljujarvi’s recent comments about questioning his place in the NHL as certainly hampered GM Ken Holland’s leverage when it comes to his forward’s value.

With the Canadiens likely unloading some expiring contracts leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, Puljujarvi could be just the type of player they could give some no-stress ice time to and evaluate for the summer.

As Kent Hughes has said in the past, he’s in the business of buying low and selling high. We’ve seen him sell high quite a few times in the last year, but he could be in the market to buy low this spring.