A day after Jesse Puljujärvi and the Pittsburgh Penguins mutually agreed to terminate his contract, the 26-year-old Finnish winger has signed a professional tryout deal with the Charlotte Checkers, AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers.

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Puljujärvi appeared in 26 games with Pittsburgh this season and four more in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. There was wide speculation that he may return to his native Finland or find other opportunities in Europe after the Penguins put him on unconditional waivers last week.

Him signing with Charlotte, however, suggests that Puljujärvi has designs on working his way back to the NHL. 

After the Penguins waived Puljujärvi, GM Kyle Dubas released a statement that further clarified why the Penguins and the forward were going their separate ways.

Kyle Dubas statement on Jesse Puljujarvi ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fkqViajY5Z

— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) February 8, 2025

Puljujärvi has been on a winding path since being selected fourth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has played in 382 NHL games with the Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 70 career games in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors and WBS Penguins, Puljujärvi has 49 points including three over the four games he played this season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

A completely fresh start for Puljujärvi may allow him to find the game that has evaded him in recent years as he recovers from injuries. He’ll do it as part of a Florida Panthers development system that has a familiar face at the top.

Bill Zito, the Florida Panthers general manager, worked alongside Puljujärvi’s agent Markus Lehto for decades as partners in their sports management agency, formerly known as Acme World Sports which is now part of Wasserman. If there’s anywhere to get an honest, favorable look, it’s here.

Additionally, the Panthers have limited cap space as they look to defend their Stanley Cup title. Seeing if Puljujärvi can pull it together and get himself back into being an NHL contributor with the Checkers makes this a low-risk bet for Florida to give them a potential low-cost option down the road.

The Checkers' next game is Saturday against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

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