The Rangers have filled a clear need on the right side, reaching agreement with Oliver Bjorkstrand on a one-year contract worth an average annual value of $4.5 million, a league source told The Athletic.
Bjorkstrand gives New York a right-handed winger who can live in the middle six and, depending on how the roster shakes out, potentially step into a second-line role. If Vincent Trocheck is moved and captain J.T.
Miller stays at center permanently, Bjorkstrand could slide up. He also brings some balance to a forward group that leans heavily left-handed.
The fit is built more on utility than star power. Bjorkstrand, 31, posted a 50.42 percent expected goals rate last season and ranked in the 64th percentile for speed bursts between 20-22 mph, according to NHL Edge. He’s 6-foot and 175 pounds, and while he’s coming off a quieter stretch offensively, the Rangers are banking on a player who can help in a variety of spots without forcing the issue.
Last season with Tampa Bay, Bjorkstrand finished with 32 points - 12 goals and 20 assists - in 80 games. That marked a dip from his 59-point season with Seattle in 2023-24, and he has six seasons of 20 goals or more on his résumé. He was also used in a pretty uneven way by the Lightning, but the expectation is that he should settle in more naturally in New York’s top nine.
A native of Denmark, Bjorkstrand entered the league as a third-round pick by the Blue Jackets in 2013 and spent the first five full NHL seasons of his career with Columbus. Per PuckPedia, the contract with the Rangers does not include trade protection.
The short term of the deal matters, too. It gives the Rangers a modest offensive boost now while keeping the door open later.
If New York stays in the race, Bjorkstrand is another piece. If the season goes sideways, he becomes a movable asset at the 2027 deadline.
There’s also a plausible version of the Rangers’ lineup in which Bjorkstrand is part of a pretty deep-looking top six alongside Miller, Alexis Lafrenière, Gabe Perreault, Mika Zibanejad and newly acquired sniper Pavel Dorofeyev. In that setup, Will Cuylle could slide into a more natural third-line role. And if Bjorkstrand gets pushed down the lineup by another addition, he has already shown he can handle that kind of usage, too.
The Rangers still have about $8.7 million in cap space after the signing, and the move is a low-risk one that adds a bit of scoring without tying their hands long term.
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