Jesse Puljujarvi's Future in the NHL Confirmed After Being Placed on Waivers
Jesse Puljujarvi was recently waived by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and now we know where his future in the league will be.
On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins made a move that surprised the NHL world, as they officially placed Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers after giving him an NHL lifeline the season before.
Given that the 26-year old has shown plenty of promise since his return to the league in 2024/25, there was expected to be some interest shown in him around the league, especially as a bottom-six forward.
However, it has now been confirmed that he will next play his hockey in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, as he passed through waivers unclaimed on Tuesday.
While he has flashed some potential, Puljujarvi hasn't produced at a high level yet, despite being a No. 4 overall pick back in the 2016 NHL Draft, as his career high in points thus far was 36 back with the Edmonton Oilers.
Now, he'll need to work his way back to the NHL roster, as he played in just one game in December with Pittsburgh, usually serving as a healthy scratch despite bringing plenty of speed and physicality to the bottom of the Penguins lineup during his time with the team.
This season, Puljujarvi is in the second-year of a deal that pays him $800,000 per season, a relatively cheap price for a solid third or fourth line winger, and if he can prove himself in the AHL for the rest of the year, we may see another team take a chance on him at that price in the summer.
With 3 goals and 8 points on the year in 21 games played, Puljujarvi has once again flashed potential, but without consistent production, it's easy to see why other teams passed on him, but at 26-years of age, he's still got plenty of time to turn things around and make a name for himself at the NHL level.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jason Zucker | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Troy Terry | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| James Van Riemsdyk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Devon Toews | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Zachary Werenski | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tage Thompson | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Lawson Crouse | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roope Hintz | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Cale Makar | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Bobby McMann | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Matthew Beniers | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Blake Coleman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Vince Dunn | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Radko Gudas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ryan Hartman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Iafallo | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 40 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 56 | |
Golden Knights | 38 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 55 | |
Capitals | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 53 | |
Wild | 39 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 52 | |
Devils | 41 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 51 | |
Maple Leafs | 39 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 50 | |
Kings | 37 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 49 | |
Hurricanes | 38 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 48 | |
Avalanche | 39 | 24 | 15 | - | 48 | |
Panthers | 39 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 48 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||