Catching Up With ex-Oilers' Jesse Puljujärvi
If you’ve been following Jesse Puljujärvi over the last few years, you kind of already know the story has never really been about talent. It’s been about fit, confidence, and finding a place where everything finally clicks again. His 2025-26 season in Switzerland might be the clearest version of that yet.
Puljujärvi landed in Switzerland after having a tough time in the NHL.
Puljujärvi landed with Genève-Servette HC in the Swiss National League and basically settled in right away. He provided the kind of steady production that reminded people of why he was such a high draft pick in the first place.
In 52 regular-season games, he scored 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points, playing right around a point-per-game pace. He was one of the main drivers of his team’s offence. He also finished with a strong +18. That tells you he wasn’t just producing, he was doing it in a way that helped his team win shifts.
And that team did win a lot of them. Genève-Servette finished near the top of the standings and pushed into the semifinals, with Puljujärvi adding another 9 points in 12 playoff games along the way.
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Puljujärvi’s confidence was obvious in his play.
But the bigger story here isn’t just the numbers. It’s how he looked doing it. This felt like a player who finally got back to playing on his own terms. The Swiss league, with its bigger ice and more open style, suited his game much better than the tight-checking grind he ran into in the NHL. He had space to skate. He had room to use his size. And most importantly, he looked confident again.
Puljujärvi’s career has always swung on that edge between “trying to survive in a role” and “playing like himself.” In Switzerland, it was clearly the second one. He wasn’t buried on a fourth line or squeezed into a checking role. He was leaned on as a top-six forward, used on the power play, and trusted to drive offence alongside other experienced players. And he responded exactly the way you’d hope — by being productive and steady every night.
There’s a rumour that Puljujärvi might resurface in the NHL next season.
Now the interesting part is what comes next. Seasons like Puljujärvi’s might travel. There’s already chatter that NHL teams could take another look at him for 2026-27, especially clubs looking for size, skill, and a low-cost middle-six option. At 28, he’s still in that window where a second act is possible.
And maybe that’s the real takeaway here. This wasn’t a reinvention. It was a reminder that sometimes a player just needs the right environment to look like himself again. For Puljujärvi, Switzerland wasn’t an ending. It was proof that his story might not be finished yet.