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Arizona Coyotes trade Nick Bjugstad to Edmonton Oilers


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Source: Arizona Coyotes trade Nick Bjugstad to Edmonton Oilers

4:29 PM ET
  • clark_ryan.png&h=80&w=80&scale=crop
    Ryan S. ClarkNHL reporter

Nick Bjugstad became the latest player to leave the Arizona Coyotes, who traded the forward to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday for a 2023 third-round draft pick, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The teams also swapped defenseman prospects as part of the deal, with Arizona receiving Michael Kesselring and Edmonton acquiring Cam Dineen, the source confirmed. The trade was first reported by Daily Faceoff.

Bjugstad, a pending unrestricted free agent who has scored 13 goals and 23 points in 59 games this season, gives the Oilers a 6-foot-6 center who could be used in their bottom six in addition to their penalty kill.

The trade comes a day after the Coyotes traded defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to the Carolina Hurricanes while moving defenseman Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators. After the multiple deals, the Coyotes own 11 picks for the 2023 draft, 14 picks for the 2024 draft and 11 picks for the 2025 draft as of Thursday afternoon.

 

The stockpiling of assets also comes as the Coyotes, who entered Thursday with the fifth-fewest points in the NHL, are among the many teams in the running to win the draft lottery and take the presumed No. 1 player in Connor Bedard.

 

Adding Bjugstad is the most recent move for last year's Western Conference final runner-up. On Tuesday, the Oilers cleared cap space by sending forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the Carolina Hurricanes. Hours later, the Oilers traded for Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm and a 2023 sixth-round pick in a deal that saw defenseman Tyson Barrie, prospect forward Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick go to Nashville.

 
 

The Oilers entered Thursday third in the Pacific Division, four points behind the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights and two points clear of the Seattle Kraken and the Winnipeg Jets for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

 

The Coyotes will retain 50% of Bjugstad's $900,000 salary and have used all three of their salary-retention spots for the season. The Coyotes retained $2.625 million of Patrick Kane's contract as a third-party broker in a deal that sent the star winger from the Chicago Blackhawks to the New York Rangers. They also have another $990,000 on the books from former captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is now with the Vancouver Canucks.

 
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Love Bjugstad since college, he was a man among boys in the big ten in his day. Saw him live against the Buckeyes twice, you always knew when he was on the ice, not just his massive size but his incredible skill. I thought he shoulda been drafted earlier and that Florida got a steal.

 

  Turned out he became a good player, nothing more then concussions derailed his career and he has become a shadow of his former self, just a meh player fighting for a league minimum or close to it contract every year in July. He actually has been decent this year in Arizona, not good but decent according to Corsi. He really is not much of a P/K guy, doesnt score enough to play first power play, never developed as a faceoff man so he gets beat more than he wins in the dot. Sounds like i am ripping him, i am not, he is servicable as a 3rd line wing/center who can score a bit and play decent defense. The cost was small, good add for Edmonton.

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