Rangers land 6-time 20-goal scorer Bjorkstrand in NHL free agency
The New York Rangers shored up their middle-six forward group Wednesday, when they signed Oliver Bjorkstrand to a one-year contract, worth a reported $4.5 million.
The 31-year-old is a steady, reliable forward who scored 20+ goals six times in 11 NHL seasons. However, he scored just 12 goals last season in 80 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The positive is that nine of those goals came on the power play. Of course, the obvious negative then is that he scored only three goals at even strength.
Perhaps last season proves to be an anomaly for Bjorkstrand. He never struggled that much at even strength, including the season prior when he scored 21 goals for the Seattle Kraken and Lightning, 16 at even strength.
Another possible red flag is that Bjorkstrand was minus-14 last season, and the Lightning were outscored 33-26 with him on the ice 5v5 despite an expected goal share of 50.42 percent, per PuckPedia.
A third-round pick (No. 89 overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2013 NHL Draft, Bjorkstrand did not play fewer than 77 games in a full NHL season since 2018-19. He scored 28 goals in 2021-22 with the Blue Jackets and totaled 59 points two years later with the Kraken. In 704 NHL games, he has 416 points (184 goals, 232 assists). Bjorkstrand also has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 49 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Where Oliver Bjorkstrand fits with Rangers
The Rangers did a good job with this signing for several reasons. Bjorkstrand can play up and down the lineup, and on either wing. His $4.5 million cap hit isn’t prohibitive, and the one-year term is perfect. It feels like Bjorkstrand is a placeholder to let forwards prospects like Liam Greentree, Nathan Aspinall ,and Jacob Battaglia marinate and grow their pro game with Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Bjorkstrand does have some trade protection, a 15-team no-trade clause. So, if the Rangers are out of playoff contention, they can move Bjorsktrand ahead of the trade deadline next season, but with some limitations.
Coach Mike Sullivan could use Bjorkstrand on a third line centered by Noah Laba (or perhaps J.T. Miller), with Tye Kartye or Will Cuylle on the other wing. Or he could start out in the top six. He’ll help the second power-play unit, as well.
Earlier Wednesday, the Rangers signed Joe Veleno to a one-year contract, likely to center their fourth line. They also acquired backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo, Bjorkstrand’s teammate previously in Columbus, in a trade with the Boston Bruins.
After the Bjorkstrand signing, the Rangers consummated a big trade, dealing Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth for center prospect Cole Beaudoin, defenseman Sean Durzi, and a third-round pick in the 2027 draft.
