Jesse Puljujarvi has inked a one-year deal with SM-Liiga club Oulun Karpat, the team announced Wednesday.
The 22-year-old spent the past season with the team after three years splitting time between the Edmonton Oilers and the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
Drafted fourth overall by Edmonton in 2016, Puljujarvi joined the Alberta club as one of the most highly touted members of his draft class, but has yet to break out at the NHL level through his early goings in the big leagues, his career production sitting at 37 points through 139 games.
Returning to his native Finland last season, Puljujarvi dominated to the tune of 24 goals and 53 points in 56 games.
While it’s seemed at times over the past season that the young winger’s tenure in Edmonton was through, Puljujarvi recently left open the possibility of an eventual return to the Oilers.
“You can never say no,” he told Finnish outlet Tampere Iltalehti, as translated by NHL.com, last week.
“I have grown and I see things a little differently. There’s now a different GM (Ken Holland) and head coach (Dave Tippett) out there. They’re building a winning team in Edmonton. It may be possible that I will still be playing there.”
Per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, Puljujarvi’s new deal with Karpat includes an NHL out-clause, which would allow the young Finn to return to the Oilers for the 2020-21 season.
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