Despite having a rough start to his young career, the Arizona Coyotes may want to at least consider signing Jesse Puljujarvi.
One free agent that remains on the open market is forward Jesse Puljujärvi. Should the Arizona Coyotes give Puljujärvi another shot in the NHL?
The 25-year-old right winger was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers.
Despite being a highly touted prospect going into the draft, Puljujärvi has not lived up to expectations. In 334 total NHL games, he has just 51 goals, 63 assists and 114 points.
Puljujärvi was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 2 but still did not seem to find a groove and continued to struggle even with a fresh start. He is now currently a free agent searching for another team to just give him a chance.
Maybe Puljujärvi needs not just any opportunity but the right one. Both the Oilers and Hurricanes are competing teams meaning there was more pressure for Puljujärvi to perform, not allowing him to develop properly.
Arizona could be the perfect place for Puljujärvi as the Coyotes are a rebuilding team with a ton of other young players still looking to make a name for themselves.
Puljujärvi can focus more on developing his game and maybe even become the player that many thought he would be years ago.
For the Coyotes, it will not cost much to sign the young forward and it is a very low-risk, high-reward type situation for the team. If Puljujärvi does not pan out there is no harm done but if he does happen to exceed expectations, the Coyotes would have a solid forward on their hands.
Puljujärvi is at least a player the Coyotes should consider bringing in.