Both Julius Honka and Jesse Puljujarvi were RFA's after the expiry of their contracts on July 1st. Both failed to sign new contracts with their respective teams before the start of the season.
That meant that both players opted to play in Europe until their eventual return to the NHL and both signed contracts with teams in Finland's SM-Liiga. Puljujarvi and Honka were dissatisfied with their playtime and their progress in the NHL and both demanded a trade and refused to return to their former teams.
Jesse Puljujarvi openly criticized the Oilers organization that still hold the exclusive rights to negotiate with him. He said that he was prepared to spend the whole season with Karpat of the SM-Liiga if that was what was necessary for him to be traded to another team. Puljujarvi is having a greatb season so far in Finland with 11 goals and 24 points in 25 games in a relatively low-scoring Hockey league.
Julius Honka announced that he wouldn't report to the Dallas Stars and would play with JyP HT Jyvaskyla until he found a new team. Honka has 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 15 games this season.
There were plenty of trade rumours involving Puljujarvi and Honka since the start of the season and those rumours intensified as December drew closer. The deadline for Type 2 Free Agents like Puljujarvi and Honka to sign an NHL contract was today, December 1st at 5 pm. Failing to sign a contract before the deadline would mean that both players would be unavailable to play in the NHL this year and would spend the whole season in Finland. The Oilers and the Stars would have to trade their players to a team with which they would have agreed a new contract.
As the clock ticked 5 pm, neither Jesse Puljujarvi nor Julius Honka had been traded, nor had they signed a new NHL contract. Their fate was sealed; they would have to spend the rest of the season overseas.
There is little doubt that the two former 1st round draft picks are promising players. Let's hope that they find success in finland this year and that they can find a new team ahead of next season. One thing is certain, plenty of teams will interested in acquiring their services.
