Montreal Canadiens Should Target Jesse Puljujarvi

The Montreal Canadiens could use a boost to their top six forwards. They could have it coming in Nick Suzuki but should pursue Jesse Puljujarvi who could thrive outside of Edmonton.

The Montreal Canadiens have a plethora of NHL ready forwards. They don’t have a perfect top six at the moment though. Adding a top six right winger would be ideal for a team that narrowly missed the postseason this year. Their target should be Jesse Puljujarvi.

The Edmonton Oilers selected the Finnish winger with the fourth overall pick in 2016. He has not quite developed to his full potential after three seasons in the Oilers organization. Puljujarvi has split each of those seasons between the Oilers and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Though the 21-year-old right winger has only 37 points in 149 career NHL games, he does have 37 points in 53 AHL games. He has a tremendous amount of potential but has not been able to live up to it in Alberta. He wouldn’t be the first top prospect to have a hard time finding his game in Edmonton.

Not long ago Taylor Hall was dealt from Edmonton to the New Jersey Devils. He had some good seasons with the Oilers but didn’t quite live up to his extraordinary potential. His second season in New Jersey he won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

I’m not saying Puljujarvi is a year or two away from MVP status, but he is a far better player than he has shown thus far with the Oilers. He seems to have had enough of Edmonton himself as Bob McKenzie has said Puljujarvi wants to stay in the NHL but would prefer to play elsewhere next season.

If this is true, and McKenzie said it, so it is true, the Montreal Canadiens should be all in on Puljujarvi. Sure, he had nine points last season, and that is not worthy of much praise. However, he just can’t seem to find a fit with the Oilers and could flourish elsewhere.

Just look at Dylan Strome. He was picked third overall by the Arizona Coyotes a year before Puljujarvi was drafted. After playing parts of three season with the Coyotes, Strome had 16 points in 48 career NHL games. He was playing well in the AHL, but couldn’t find his footing in the NHL.

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Arizona traded him early last season to the Chicago Blackhawks, and he immediately flourished. Strome started the year with six points in 20 games as a Coyote but scored 51 points in 58 games in Chicago. Puljujarvi could be a trade away from breaking out in the exact same way Strome did.

The Coyotes traded Strome to the Hawks along with depth winger Brendan Perlini for Nick Schmaltz. Schmaltz had 52 points in 78 games in 2017-18 but struggled to start this season off strong. He had 11 points in 23 games for the Blackhawks at the time of his trade even though he was given a shot to play with Patrick Kane.

Since Puljujarvi is a restricted free agent and does not want to return to Edmonton, they won’t be able to get a huge return for him. If he is not traded, he is more likely to play for Jokerit next season than the Oilers. They have to move him for something similar to the Dylan Strome trade.

That means they will be getting a youngish player who showed some promise but struggled a bit last year. They could use wingers, as they already have Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins down the middle.

It’s tough to decide what is the right value for Puljujarvi. Is the guy who scored nine points last season? Is he the guy who was pretty much on par with Patrik Laine in his draft year? If the Habs offered up a more proven NHL player like Joel Armia or Artturi Lehkonen who are smart, two-way players but not go-to scorers, they might be able to pry Puljujarvi out of a difficult situation.

It’s possible Puljujarvi finds immediate chemistry with Max Domi on the top line. It’s also possible he could provide depth scoring on a like with Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Either way, the reward far outweighs the risk in acquiring the huge Finnish winger, and the Montreal Canadiens should be all over this.