It appears Edmonton Oilers restricted free agent Jesse Puljujarvi will not be on the move ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.

It had previously been suggested the Oilers could use Puljujarvi, who’s spending the season in Finland, as a trade chip, but Oilers general manager Ken Holland threw cold water on that Thursday.

“I haven’t really shopped him – and nobody’s really asked,” Holland told reporters.

Because Puljujarvi was not signed by Dec. 1, the 21-year-old forward cannot play in the NHL this season. He has 19 goals and 45 points in 47 games with Karpat in the SM-liiga this season.

The No. 4 overall pick in 2016, Puljujarvi posted four goals and nine points in 46 games with the Oilers last season and stated his desire last summer for a fresh start with a new organization.

Holland said in January that he would consider moving the winger at the deadline, but it would need to be a worthwhile return for the Oilers.

“Realistically there are three to four things that could happen on Jesse Puljujarvi,” Holland told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic. “One, do you want to trade him in a rental? He’s a 21-year-old player who was the fourth-overall pick. Do you want to trade him in a rental deal and get someone on the short term and they’re gone and that asset is gone? 

“No. 2, and Jesse and his agent have made it very clear to me last summer that he didn’t want to play for the Oilers. So, I’m going to proceed along that way. So No. 2 is, do you trade him at the draft in June? That would be hockey trade versus a rental trade. 

“No. 3, if you can’t find a hockey trade, he would have the decision whether he wants to play in Europe again in 2020-21 or does he want to come back to the Edmonton Oilers? I don’t know what the future brings until I start to get on the phone. As I went through the process in July and August and October, I had some offers that interested me but not enough to pull the trigger. So we’ll see. 

“Again, if he’s traded at the trade deadline, do you want to trade a 21-year-old player for a rental? Depends who the rental player is I guess.”

Puljujarvi has 17 goals and 37 points in 139 career NHL games.

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