Edmonton Oilers Recall Puljujarvi, Place Slepyshev on IR

The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Jesse Puljujarvi from the Bakersfield Condors and placed Anton Slepyshev on the injured reserve, the team announced Friday.

Slepyshev, who scored his first of the year in the Oilers 3-2 OT victory over the Devils Thursday, suffered a lower-body injury in the victory. He suffered an injury to his foot prior to the start of training camp, which has limited him to just 10 games this season. So far, he has a goal and two points.

Edmonton Oilers

Puljujarvi will get the chance to come up and prove his NHL worth, especially after a lacklustre training camp that saw him starting the year in the AHL. In 10 games for the Condors this year, he has a goal and five points.

The former fourth-overall pick started the 2016-17 season on the Oilers’ opening night roster after an impressive showing in the preseason. In 28 games, he registered just a goal and eight points and failed to impress or prove consistent. This resulted in him being sent back down to the Condors, where he’d score 12 goals and 28 points in 39 games.

The Oilers currently have the worst goals per game average in the league, scoring just around 2.3 goals per game. They desperately need more goals from their offence, especially beyond the top-six. And after returning Kailer Yamamoto to juniors and shuffling their lines, Edmonton is examining all of their options.

If Puljujarvi sees scoring success at the NHL level, he will definitely get the chance to stick around longer. While he is coming in in wake of an injury, he could stand out and start bringing a lot of much-needed production to the Oilers, it is possible that Edmonton will reevaluate their options to keep him up on the main roster.

Next: Edmonton Oilers Impress With Win Over Devils

Ultimately, while it is not good to see Slepyshev on the shelf again, the Oilers could benefit from a different player on the bottom-six. And with this shake-up, hopefully, Edmonton benefits.