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Roby Järventie

Oilers Sign Roby Jarventie To Two-Way Extension

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When Oilers pending RFA winger Roby Jarventie signed a three-year deal in his native Finland early last month, that indicated he wouldn’t be back with the club for a while. Instead, it appears that his overseas contract is being torn up as he’s landed a two-way commitment from Edmonton for 2025-26, PuckPedia reports. The contract carries the league-minimum NHL salary of $775K with a $125K minors salary and a $200K guarantee.

Jarventie’s 2024-25 sample size was limited to just two games, both with AHL Bakersfield back in October, after sustaining an offseason knee injury. It was the 22-year-old’s first season in the Edmonton system after the Oilers acquired him from the Senators in exchange for 2021 first-round pick Xavier Bourgault last summer.

His NHL resume is, unsurprisingly, limited. He has one assist and a minus-five rating in seven career outings, all with Ottawa in a November 2023 call-up. He averaged just 7:31 per game, though, never getting the opportunity to showcase what he can do offensively higher up in the lineup.

Up until this season, though, Jarventie’s minor-league development in Ottawa’s system with AHL Belleville was promising. In his three seasons spent fully in North America, Jarventie increased his points per game production from 0.47 in 2021-22 to 0.75 in 2022-23 and again to 0.91 in 2023-24. The 2020 second-rounder also had two assists in his two outings with Bakersfield this year and almost certainly would have gotten a call-up to the Oilers had his health held up.

Jarventie was presumably unsure whether he’d receive a contract offer from Edmonton after his injury-plagued season, leading to his decision to land a secure role back home. Instead, he’ll look to hit the reset button this summer and compete for a roster spot in training camp in the fall.

Oilers’ Roby Järventie Signs In Finland

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Oilers pending restricted free agent winger Roby Järventie has signed a three-year contract with Finland’s Tappara, the team announced.

An early second-round pick by the Senators in 2020 (No. 33), Edmonton acquired Järventie last summer in a swap sending 2021 first-rounder Xavier Bourgault the other way. Bourgault had failed to pop offensively in the minors in the Oilers’ system, while Järventie had injury troubles and hadn’t landed an NHL role despite some promising offensive trends in the minors.

Unfortunately for Järventie and the Oilers, he barely got a chance to play this season. He sustained an offseason knee injury that kept him out of training camp. Upon returning to health in late October, he reported to AHL Bakersfield but played just two games before sustaining another injury and remaining out for the season.

The offensive potential is still there with the 6’3″, 209-lb 22-year-old. He posted a pair of assists in his two games with Bakersfield and had 50 points in 62 AHL games in the Sens’ system over the prior two seasons. Still, he only has seven games of NHL experience – all with Ottawa, all in the 2023-24 season – recording an assist and a minus-five rating.

While Järventie won’t be signing in the Oilers organization next season, Edmonton can still retain his signing rights through the 2029-30 season if they issue him a qualifying offer. It’s clear he doesn’t factor into Edmonton’s immediate future, but it would be surprising to see them non-tender him because they’ll still hold his NHL signing rights when his contract with Tappara expires in 2028. If his pre-injury trajectory holds, he could very well be an NHL-caliber player at that time and could walk into a richer one-way deal with Edmonton down the road.

Järventie played 53 games across two seasons in Finland’s top-level Liiga, just not with Tappara. He suited up with Ilves in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns before touching down with the Sens in North America, scoring 15 goals and 26 points. The two-time World Juniors medalist will now reunite with his younger brother, Penguins prospect Emil Järventie, as well as former NHLers Daniel Brickley and Jyrki Jokipakka on Tappara’s roster next year.

West Notes: Lehner, Perfetti, Jarventie

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Robin Lehner’s absence from Golden Knights training camp to take (and not pass) his physical has led to the team reportedly considering its options.  However, the netminder told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that his absence wasn’t unexpected:

All I can say at this time is everyone knows why I couldn’t be there. I am waiting calmly for things to be sorted out.

Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon has already indicated that Lehner won’t be reporting to the team this season.  The 33-year-old hasn’t played the last two years after undergoing hip surgery and clearly, that will be three years based on McCrimmon’s statement.  He’ll be LTIR-eligible once again as a result but Friedman notes that the team, Lehner, and the NHLPA are working through the unique circumstances of this situation so it might not quite be as simple as it has been the last couple of seasons.

More from out West:

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Cole Perfetti’s camp is believed to be using Ottawa’s two-year, $7.5MM agreement as a comparable in contract discussions, one that the Jets would likely want to avoid. The numbers between the two are quite close; Perfetti has 75 points in 140 career NHL games while Pinto checks in at 70 in 140.  While Pinto’s agreement was actually his third contract, he wasn’t arbitration-eligible which still makes it a legitimate comparable agreement.  Clearly, Winnipeg is looking for this deal to come in below that price point.
  • New Oilers prospect Roby Jarventie will have to wait a little while longer to make his case for a roster spot. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal notes that while the 22-year-old has recovered from his midseason knee surgery, he overcompensated on the other knee while recovering, leading to him needing to shut things down for a couple of weeks to recover.  Jarventie played in seven games with Ottawa last season while adding 20 points in 22 AHL games and was acquired from the Sens this summer in mid-July.

Oilers, Senators Swap Xavier Bourgault, Roby Jarventie

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The Senators have already completed one transaction today, signing goaltender Mads Søgaard to a two-year deal, and they’ve now completed a second. They’ve sent left winger Roby Jarventie and their 2025 fourth-round pick to the Oilers in exchange for forward prospects Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson, per announcements from both teams.

“This trade provides us with additional competition and depth at forward,” Senators general manager Steve Staios said in a press release. “Both Xavier and Jake are trending in the right direction with their respective development. With the potential for greater playing opportunity next season, they should both benefit considerably.”

Bourgault, 21, is the big fish in this trade. He was the Oilers’ first-round pick in 2021, taken 22nd overall, a pick acquired from the Wild in a pick swap on draft day that resulted in Minnesota selecting top goaltending prospect Jesper Wallstedt at 20. Unfortunately, Bourgault hasn’t progressed as hoped and is yet to make his NHL debut.

After wrapping up his junior career with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes, Bourgault signed his entry-level contract in March 2022 and turned pro the subsequent season. He did okay in his first season on assignment to AHL Bakersfield, finishing 2022-23 with a solid 13 goals, 21 assists and 34 points in 62 games and finishing fourth on the team in scoring. But this past season was unkind to the Quebec native, whose offense was limited to only eight goals and 20 points in 55 games with Bakersfield. He was also held without a point in two playoff games.

Edmonton recently rejuvenated their forward prospect pool in a big way, acquiring 2022 ninth-overall pick Matthew Savoie in a trade with the Sabres earlier this month. That made Bourgault somewhat expendable for a team in the middle of a championship contention window, especially one with their forward corps set for the immediate future.

But with Ottawa, Bourgault should have a much clearer path to his NHL debut. He can play center and right-wing, both of which are positions of need for the Sens – at least in depth roles. He joins a group that includes veterans Noah Gregor and Zack MacEwen as well as up-and-comers Jan Jeník and Zack Ostapchuk that will be competing for roster spots out of camp.

The Sens also added Chiasson in this deal, but he’s far off from seeing NHL ice. The 21-year-old was selected three rounds after Bourgault in 2021 but stayed in juniors for his overage season, meaning he didn’t turn pro until last year. After signing his ELC with Edmonton, Chiasson played just one game with AHL Bakersfield and was instead sent to ECHL Fort Wayne for most of the campaign, where he had nine goals and 20 points in 68 games with a -12 rating.

In exchange for parting ways with a pair of prospects, the Oilers recoup Jarventie, a player that the team’s Bob Stauffer reports they’ve liked for quite some time. Selected 33rd overall by Ottawa in 2020, the 6’2″, 214-lb Finnish winger made his NHL debut last season, recording an assist and a -5 rating in seven games while averaging a paltry 7:31 per night. The 21-year-old has one season remaining on his entry-level contract, which will presumably be spent with Bakersfield.

While he doesn’t have Bourgault’s billing as a first-round pick, Jarventie does have a much better recent track record in the minors. Injuries and roster moves limited him to 22 games with AHL Belleville last season, but he clicked at nearly a point per game with nine goals and 11 assists in 22 contests. He has 86 points (38 goals, 48 assists) in 136 career games with Belleville since arriving in North America in 2021.

Ottawa Senators Reassign Roby Järventie, Mads Søgaard

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In advance of tomorrow’s game against the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators have reassigned netminder Mads Søgaard and forward Roby Järventie to their AHL affiliate, the Bellville Senators.

With Søgaard, this reassignment is likely an indication that starter Joonas Korpisalo is ready to at least dress as the backup goalie tomorrow against the Panthers. Korpisalo had been injured, prompting the Søgaard recall, but there was hope that he’d be ready for the Florida game tomorrow. With this reassignment, it now appears those hopes have become reality.

Søgaard, 22, did not see game action in his latest NHL stint with Ottawa. He has been strong in eight games as the starter for Belleville, posting a 4-3 record, 2.35 goals-against-average, and .923 save percentage.

As for Järventie, this reassignment is less based on roster juggling and likely more about performance. Given the first NHL opportunity of his career, Järventie didn’t receive many minutes and didn’t do very much with the ice time he did receive. Other than registering his first NHL point in a surprising victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on November eighth, Järventie didn’t make much of a mark.

He’s been significantly better at the AHL level, though, and has scored 33 points in his last 46 games there. Now headed back to Belleville, the 21-year-old 2020 33rd overall pick will look to have a productive stretch and potentially earn another shot at the NHL level.

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