"We're excited to welcome Oliver to our organization," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "He's coming off of a career year offensively playing top minutes in Columbus. His creativity and hockey sense will be good additions to our forward group."
RELATED: [2022-23 NHL Trade Tracker]
The 27-year-old forward set NHL career highs with 28 goals, 29 assists and 57 points in 80 games for the Blue Jackets last season with an average ice time of 17:57 per game, third among Columbus forwards. He has four seasons remaining on a five-year, $27 million contract ($5.4 million average annual value) he signed with the Blue Jackets on Jan. 6, 2021.
"It was a difficult decision to trade Oliver, who has given so much to our organization over the past seven years," Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen said. "However, a move like this needed to be made in order for us to be (NHL) salary cap compliant after the Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine signings. We are thankful for Oliver's many contributions to our club, on and off the ice, and wish he and his wife, Jill, all the best in Seattle."
The Blue Jackets signed Gaudreau, a forward, to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract ($9.75 AAV) as an unrestricted free agent July 13. They signed Laine, a restricted free agent forward, to a
four-year, $34.8 million contract
($8.7 million AAV) earlier Friday.
"We had not planned or counted on getting Johnny Gaudreau and that changed everything," Kekalainen said. "So had we'd been able to sort of count on it and plan it, we would have obviously been in a better position to make some of these moves ahead of time so that we didn't get squeezed, but once an opportunity like that came up in front of us and we knew that it was real, we just had to get it done. You just can't pass on a player like that."
Selected by Columbus in the third round (No. 89) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Bjorkstrand has 234 points (111 goals, 123 assists) in 382 regular-season games over seven NHL seasons. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 31 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"Probably the hardest decision I ever had to make as a GM of the Blue Jackets to trade Oliver Bjorkstrand, who I think very highly of not just as a hockey player, but as a person," Kekalainen said. "He's been part of our organization for nine years and that was my first draft with the Blue Jackets."
