Oilers Acquire Nick Bjugstad

Mar 3, 2023 - 12:05 AM

After making a big splash to acquire Mattias Ekholm from the Predators, Ken Holland made a deal with the Coyotes for Nick Bjugstad.

Nick Bjugstad was on our trade radar earlier in the week, the Oilers send a third round selection and defenceman Michael Kesselring to the Coyotes. The Coyotes will hold 50% of Bjugstad’s cap hit, allowing him to nestle perfectly into Edmonton’s tight cap situation.

Bjugstad is having a very good season. A right shot centre, Bjugstad has put up the most points since his breakout 2017-18 season when he put 49 points on the board as a member of the Florida Panthers. Bjugstad is a solid bottom six player with decent numbers at the dot. Bjugstad is a pending UFA at the end of the season, though his 900K cap hit in 2022-23 would make him a realistic signing should that cap hit remain somewhere near where it is today .

ON DEFENCE

A third round selection goes to Arizona, as does defenceman Michael Kesselring.

Kesselring was a sixth round selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. A sixth rounder is a longshot to make the show, but Kesselring will have a very good chance in Arizona. He leaves the Condors as the leading scorer on defence.

Also coming to the Oilers in the deal is Cam Dineen. A southpaw drafted in the third round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Dineen has spent some time in the NHL this year (0-7-7 in 34 GP). He led the Roadrunners in scoring among defencemen (4-31-35 in 50 GP) and is scheduled to become an RFA at the conclusion of this year.

Bjugstad is a fine player at his cap hit (900K). He’s an even better acquisition at 50% off, though I would not have preferred to have dealt Kesselring in the process. A third rounder for a pending UFA is a little rich, but Holland has made two deals (Ekholm and Bjugstad) which improve the team today.