No, even if they want him gone for nothing, they should go the trade route. It's quite possible no one claims him if they waive him, and then they will be stuck with having to pay to move him if they want to do that.

I think it's 50-50 he clears. You need a team that has the space and thinks it's worth the shot. Probably a decent amount of teams in one camp or another, but fewer that meet both.
They are also going to look at it as an extended tryout bc they have to qualify him or resign him for him to be an asset, and he's done nothing to indicate he's worth his qualifying offer.
I like him, and think he's still got a chance to be a player, but there's a decent chance he goes home after this season, imo. And he's definitely not worth a 3M qualifying offer, even if he ended the season on a tear. Tough spot for Edmonton, because giving up on him could haunt you, but so does wasting $3M of space on a raw player when you're trying to chase the cup while McDrai is still there after 8yrs of underwhelming results.
I think they can throw him into a trade with a rebuilding club in a move for a veteran, but that he won't carry much/any real trade value.

I think the trade route has been tried already.

Unless the Oilers need the cap or have a replacement for him a suppose they keep him. It really doesn't clear 3m if he claimed by another team. It's the cost of his replacement....lets say 800,000, so it would be 2.2m saving

If they can't trade him alone, then I think a team looking to sell at the deadline could be willing to help out without additional cost. They might need to make a move in February though, to ensure that they can get him shipped out in a deal.

It was already reported that puljujarvi was already very close to being delt before Yamamoto got injured, Holland then put a hold to that trade. Until he is healthy again. He will get traded and within the next 10 days as Yamamoto will return no earlier than the 12th. The Big NHL insiders are saying he’s close to being traded. So my guess is he will be traded soon.