Should The Nashville Predators Trade For Jesse Puljujarvi?

With Jesse Puljujarvi making headlines saying that he wants out of Edmonton and will play in the KHL until he finds a new team to sign his RFA deal with in the NHL, should the Nashville Predators consider being his destination?

The former fourth overall pick has shown a lot of red flags in his first three seasons in North America, which is why the Nashville Predators should not acquire his rights and add him to their roster.

First of all, the Nashville Predators do have a logjam in the forward department, as well as another young winger who will be looking to fight for his place on the NHL roster, with Eeli Tolvanen fighting for a spot with guys like Daniel Carr, Calle Jarnkrok, Miikka Salomaki, and Rocco Grimaldi.

The bottom six is so flooded that the Nashville Predators may have to get rid of a few guys, so there is no reason to bring in another guy to compete in that log jam, but Jesse Puljujarvi has shown absolutely nothing to show that he’s better than the players he would have to compete against for a spot.

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In his first 139 games in the NHL, Jesse Puljujarvi posted up 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points, which is absolutely awful, especially considering he only had four goals and five assists for nine points this season.

He has yet to show any signs of potential that the Oilers had seen in him in 2016 and the 6’4 forward might be heading in the same direction Nail Yakupov had when they selected him first overall in 2012.

He also seems like a quitter for bailing on the Oilers and heading to the KHL after just three seasons, so honestly, having a guy with that kind of mentality could be dangerous for the Nashville Predators locker room.

The Predators are a team that is currently trying to compete for a championship and adding Pulujarvi, who can’t even produce on a terrible Oilers team, wouldn’t help much at all.

You can’t even make the argument that he would be playing with better players in Nashville, because he had chances to play on the same line as quality players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (his most frequent linemate) and even some chances next to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisitl.

The fact that he couldn’t find success while playing with the best player in the league is a major red flag that the Nashville Predators should definitely take for account.

Pulujarvi does provide size to the lineup, checking in at 6’4, 201 lbs, but he honestly doesn’t bring much else to the table.

He hasn’t been able to showcase his scoring ability that he was once touted to have when he was drafted, with his best season being in 2017-18 when he scored 12 goals, but his 2018-19 campaign showing a lot of regression is a major red flag.

He has yet to show that he can compete at the NHL level and with his exit to the KHL, I honestly think this should be the last we see of him in this league.

Puljujarvi already looks like a bonafide bust and now that he quit on the Edmonton Oilers, he has no place in the NHL and on the Nashville Predators roster.