NHL trade deadline profile: Oliver Bjorkstrand

The Kraken winger could provide the Devils some much needed scoring pop at 5v5.

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The Seattle Kraken splashed a lot of money around in the off-season. Unfortunately for them, their spending spree hasn’t paid off.

The Kraken sit 28th in points and are tied with the Anaheim Ducks in wins, which is never a good sign.

Selling at the deadline will no doubt be the plan, with the Kraken looking to ship out players whose contracts will expire over the next year or two.

One such player who could, or should, be of interest to the New Jersey Devils is Oliver Bjorkstrand.

Let’s take a closer look at the positives and negatives of pursuing Bjorkstrand.

The good

Oliver Bjorkstrand produces consistent offense and he does it at 5v5, where the Devils are severely lacking juice.

He is tied for 64th in points during that gamestate with names like Anze Kopitar, Timo Meier, and Robert Thomas.

Bjorkstrand also sits 63rd in goal scoring, having potted the same total as exceptional shooters like Mikko Rantanen, Filip Forsberg, and Brock Boeser.

He possesses underrated playmaking ability and an excellent shot that can beat goaltenders cleanly.

He’s also better than you think at creating offense in tougher areas of the ice. Bjorkstrand ranks in the 71st percentile in high-danger shots, 87th percentile in high-danger goals, and is shooting a whopping 32% from that home plate area (91st percentile).

Tell me that finishing touch wouldn’t be nice to have alongside, I don’t know, Jack Hughes.

Bjorkstrand isn’t someone who creates at one end but is a complete liability at the other end.

He is one of just two Kraken forwards – Jaden Schwartz being the other – who owns a positive rating offensively and defensively, per HockeyStatCards.