A Puljujarvi trade still seems likely by the draft
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: A report from Kaleva.Fi has Karpat head coach Mikko Manner saying that Jesse Puljujarvi should spend another season in Finland.
“(through google translate)“This season has definitely restored him the joy of play, self-confidence and the feeling that he is important. The next step is to develop the details and skills to strengthen his mental, tactical and technical footprint.
“If I could decide, he would still play next year in (Karpat). I think it would be the right place for him to continue to develop.”
Staples notes Puljujarvi has maintained his desire to be traded out of Edmonton. A trade would most likely happen before the draft. Puljujarvi increased his trade value with his play in Finland. It’s unlikely that Puljujarvi changes his mind about wanting a trade, but you can’t rule it out.
Neal-Lucic trade condition up in the air … Oilers interested in re-signing some free agents
Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis of The Athletic: If the regular season were to be canceled, James Neal would finish with 19 goals scored this season, which is two below the 21 goals (and 10+ more goals than Milan Lucic) needed for the conditional pick to come into effect. The Edmonton Oilers would then keep their draft pick. It may not be that simple and the league could pro-rate totals, which would put Neal at 22, and the Oilers could own the Calgary Flames a 2020 third-round pick.
Oilers GM Ken Holland already re-signed Joakim Nygard, Josh Archibald and Zack Kassian. Holland also said last week that he hopes to re-sign more.
“I do plan on trying to re-sign a couple more of those players,” Holland said. “But really, I’m going to get at it when our season is over.
Other pending free agents he might be interested in re-signing are Riley Sheahan, Mike Smith, and Gaetan Haas. There is obviously not a rush to re-sign anyone at this point in time.
The Oilers could have some salary cap overages for next season due to the bonuses of some players.