Despite trade speculation that has surrounded Jesse Puljujarvi most of the summer, the Edmonton Oilers winger is ready to take this coming 2022-23 NHL season head-on and do it with the same team he played for this past season. Whether he’s traded or not is out of his control, but Puljujarvi wants to play a “big role” on this Oilers team and give everything he has to them.
Speaking with Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat, Puljujarvi said, ”The plan is to enter the season with a full, hard attitude. Aiming for a better role and the plan is to give everything to the team. I want to play in a big role.. …This is the goal and that’s why I have practiced well all summer. Of course I want to be a good player in a good team.”
He added that he hasn’t been paying attention to trade speculation and he knows that things are written about him that is both positive and negative. He’s grown up enough as an NHL player that he doesn’t focus on the reviews and he’s only worried about improving as a player and doing his job as best he can. He noted, “There has been writings about me for many years now. Sometimes it has gone better and sometimes worse. This whole time I have grown as a person and done my own thing, that is playing hockey and focusing on everyday life…I try to get the best out of me and at the same time enjoy the work. Yes there will always be journalists and fans who write about things. I just try to take care of myself.”
Good News for Oilers Fans
Puljujarvi may still get traded as the Oilers try to juggle their salary cap issues. Something has to give but the Oilers aren’t deep at right wing and GM Ken Holland isn’t going to give the player up for little to no return. The team might be better off having him start the season on the roster and see if he can produce like he did when last season began. At that point, he’s either happy and a useful part of the roster or he’s easier to trade.
Either way, he seems to have his head in the right place, something that was a rumored issue when it sounded like he was open to moving on. The narrative was that he felt he had earned a spot in the top six despite a poor finish to last year. The Oilers don’t necessarily have a guaranteed role for him on one of the top two lines. If he’s eager to get it and earn that spot, it’s a win for everyone.
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