Penguins Place Former 4th Overall Pick on Waivers & the Vancouver Canucks Now Have a Serious Decision to Make
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has made the surprising decsion today to place former 4th overall pick forward Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers, for the purpose of sending him down to the American Hockey League (AHL)
With a less than stellar 17-16-5 record and a ways away from making the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to try and still make a push for a wild card spot, and their first move of trying to get there is to shake up their roster by placing Puljujarvi on waivers.
Taken 4th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Puljujarvi was once a highly touted prospect, but has never seemed to find his game at the NHL level.
After one solid year in his sophomore season with the Oilers, scoring 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 65 games, his career has steadily declined until the climax of needing double hip surgery and signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023-2024 offseason.
Now, every club in the league will have the opportunity in the next 24-hours to sign the 26-year-old before he gets sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.
With the injuries and inconsistency to the Vancouver Canucks lineup, general manager Petrik Allvin may want to look at adding a once highly promising forward.
Although not the prospect he once was, if given the right opportunity, Puljujarvi may still be able to revitalize his career, and as stated earlier, the Vancouver Canucks have many opportunities with the amount of absences they are suffering this season.
