BLOG: Bjugstad thrilled by trade call to Edmonton

EDMONTON, AB - With the NHL Trade Deadline creeping closer, Nick Bjugstad finally got the phone call he was hoping for.
"I was taking a nap with my daughter when my wife told me (Arizona's General Manager) Bill Armstrong was calling. She figured it was worth waking my two-year-old and I up from that nap, so yeah, it was good news," Bjugstad said in a virtual media conference on Thursday afternoon.
"I'm definitely super excited to join the Oilers here and (they were) definitely a team that I was hoping I was getting a call about, so just tons of excitement on my end and I can't wait to join the boys and try to help this team win a Stanley Cup."
Bjugstad
was acquired from the Coyotes on Thursday
along with defenceman Cam Dineen in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick and defenceman Michael Kesselring.
The former Coyotes forward says he was thankful for the chance to re-establish his game with Arizona after signing a one-year, $900,000 deal in the offseason, but the allure of joining a contender -- not to mention with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl -- was too enchanting a possibility to pass up.
"(Edmonton) obviously has lots of skill with these guys and they're hard to play against, so to be on the same side as these guys is going to be fun. Individually, I think it's a good fit for myself," Bjugstad said. "I've kind of re-found my game this past year. I got knocked off course a little bit and I felt I still had more in the tank still only being 30 years old. I had a good opportunity here in Arizona to kind of find my footing again and it's been a good season so far, but I feel like individually I have more to give and definitely want to be a part of a playoff-calibre team."

The 30-year-old had been a solid contributor on a struggling Coyotes squad with 13 goals, 10 assists in 59 games this season. In addition, he led the Coyotes in plus/minus with a plus-7 rating and was one of just three forwards to be on the positive side of the ledger.
Bjugstad, who was drafted 19th-overall back in 2010, said he had to learn to also be a defensive contributor alongside his obvious offensive talents. His size with his versatile skill set to play up-and-down the Oilers lineup and move from either centre or right wing makes him an intriguing chess piece for Head Coach Jay Woodcroft down the stretch.
"I grew up scoring the goals and being relied on. As the pyramid gets smaller, as you get into the higher ranks, it's much harder to score and everyone can score once you get to the NHL," Bjugstad said about his defensive growth. "For me, it's just the ability to be able to adapt. My role in Minnesota the previous couple of years, I played fourth-line right wing and never really had that role. I think it taught me some different things as far as being defensively responsible."
Bjugstad comes from a hockey-first family. His father Mike Bjugstad played at the university level, while his uncle played over 300 NHL games. Nick's hockey ties to Edmonton go way back to when he was a child and his fondest youth hockey memory is associated with the city.
"I was in The Brick Tournament when I was a kid. I spent seven days in that mall, which were the seven best days of my life as a kid," Bjugstad said. "I think that was a highlight for me, so I might have to go back to West Edmonton Mall and check it out again."

It is already confirmed that Bjugstad will wear number 72 for the Oilers once making debut in the Blue & Orange -- a game that will coincidently also be is 600th in the National Hockey League. The forward will fly to Edmonton on Friday morning but doesn't believe he will play in that night's contest against the Winnipeg Jets.
However, there is another Oiler who currently wears the number 72 jersey in team mascot Hunter the Lynx. It's unknown if this will cause any locker room friction between the wild cat and the Oilers latest deadline acquisition, but Bjugstad vows to make things right.
"Oh man, I might have to talk to him. I know they (mascots) don't talk, but yeah, I didn't know that. Someone should have given me a heads-up on that," he joked. "I was number 27 most of my career, so I just flopped the number 27. But yeah, we'll have to figure something out. My daughter's love mascots, so I've got to show some love, I guess."