Jesse Puljujarvi sends confusing message to Oilers!

It has been quite a complicated relationship between the Edmonton Oilers and young forward Jesse Puljujarvi. The disgruntled Puljujarvi always seemed to prefer to be traded by the Oilers, but was reportedly considering a return with the club in the past weeks. 

“You can never say no,” Puljujarvi had told Finnish news outletTampere Iltalehti. “I have grown and I see things a little differently. There’s now a different GM and head coach out there. Build a winning team in Edmonton. It may be possible that I will still be playing there.”

However, he appeared to reject the idea quite clearly on Wednesday morning, extending his stay in Finland’s SM-Liiga.

The 22-year-old signed a one-year contract extension with Oulun Karpat on Wednesday and will join the team for training camp on Monday.

But no so fast, says Chris Johnston of Sportsnet! His new deal with Karpat "includes a NHL out-clause that would allow him to return for the 2020-21 season. His NHL rights remain with the Oilers and there's been some indication Puljujarvi might be willing to give it another go in Edmonton.

Puljujarvi left the Oilers at the end of the 2018-19 season and played this past campaign with Karpat, putting up 24 goals and 53 points in 56 games.

The NHL road was never easy for the forward, who was the fourth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Oilers. He failed to crack the regular roster and had multiple stints in the American Hockey League. In his third season with the Oilers, Puljujarvi had just four goals and nine points in 46 games.

In 139 NHL games, the young forward has 17 goals and 37 points.

We shall see if a return to Edmonton is in the cards.