The Rangers are banking on Oliver Bjorkstrand to help turn a rough year into something sturdier.
New York stumbled through the 2025-26 season and finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, but the front office went to work this offseason. The club added Pavel Dorofeyev, Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson, and Joonas Korpisalo in trades, then brought in Bjorkstrand on a one-season deal after a down year with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The hope is simple: he bounces back.
Bjorkstrand’s path to New York has been steady, if not flashy. Columbus took him in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft, and he debuted in the NHL in 2015-16.
He spent his first seven seasons with the Blue Jackets, where he earned a reputation as a dependable defensive winger who backchecked hard and usually landed in the neighborhood of 40 points a year. His best run there came in 2021-22, when he posted 28 goals and 29 assists in 80 games.
He then became a key piece for the Seattle Kraken over the next three seasons. In 2022-23, Bjorkstrand helped Seattle reach the postseason, finishing with 20 goals and 25 assists in 82 games. He also made a real mark in the playoffs, scoring four goals and adding four assists in 14 games as the Kraken knocked off the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
Even when Seattle missed the playoffs in 2023-24, Bjorkstrand kept producing. That season brought a career-high 59 points, built on 20 goals and 39 assists in 82 games. Then came a trade to Tampa Bay at the deadline in 2024-25, where he finished with 21 goals and 25 assists in 79 games before an injury kept him out of the postseason.
Last season with the Lightning was a different story. Bjorkstrand spent plenty of time on the third line and on the top power-play unit.
He still flashed the quick wrist shot that has long been part of his game, and he remained useful on the power play, but his five-on-five production dried up. He ended the year with 12 goals and 20 assists in 80 games, with only three goals and 15 assists coming at even strength, and he was held without a point in four playoff games.
That’s why the Rangers see his contract as a low-risk swing. At $4.5 million for one season, Bjorkstrand gives them a player who can still defend responsibly and, if things break right, rediscover the scoring touch that made him so valuable in Seattle and Columbus.
Where he fits is the next question. New York is expected to keep Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere, and Gabe Perreault together on the first line after they clicked late last season.
That leaves Bjorkstrand with a shot at the second line, where he could skate with J.T. Miller and Dorofeyev, who scored 37 goals for the Vegas Golden Knights last season.
That kind of setup would give Bjorkstrand a much better chance to create offense than he had buried on Tampa Bay’s third line.
There’s also a third-line route. In that scenario, he’d likely line up with Noah Laba and Will Cuylle. The offensive expectations would be lower, but Laba and Cuylle are both solid two-way players, and the Rangers would still be hoping for more from that unit than they got from their third line a year ago.
Bjorkstrand should also factor into the power play. He is likely to start on the second unit, where his knack for finding open ice and setting up teammates can matter just as much as the shot.
New York’s power play struggled last season when Adam Fox missed time, but the additions of Durzi and Dorofeyev give them two more options. If everyone stays healthy, the second unit should be better and may even see more ice time than it did last season.
Depth was a problem for the Rangers last year, and Bjorkstrand is part of the answer now. With Artemi Panarin traded just before the deadline last season and Vincent Trocheck dealt this offseason, New York needs production all through the lineup. Bjorkstrand has the chance to rebound and become one of the players that helps make that happen.
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