Jesse Puljujarvi officially making his return to the NHL

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Liam McCormick
February 4, 2024 (1:56 PM)

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Moments ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced the signing of Jesse Puljujarvi to an NHL contract. According to the press release, the Penguins signed him to a two year, two way contract for $800K.

Puljujarvi had signed an AHL tryout contract with the Penguins earlier this season, coming off of a double hip surgery. After a slow start getting his bearings and back up to speed, Puljujarvi has excelled in the AHL lately, now with 4 goals and 9 points in 13 games.

After completing essentially a rehab session with the Penguins AHL team, Pittsburgh will likely call him up to make his official return to the AHL after a long layoff. Puljujarvi will likely slot in on the third or fourth line for the Penguins with some penalty killing opportunities.

Originally drafted fourth overall by the Oilers in 2016, Puljujarvi has never lived up to the offensive production expected from such a high draft pick, but analytics greatly value his play driving abilities. In Edmonton he became a polarizing player, both a fan favourite and a reason for the team's failures. It's great to see Puljujarvi make a comeback from such a brutal injury and earn his way back into the NHL with another competitive team.