NY Rangers Sign Veteran Oliver Bjorkstrand To Appealing One-Year Deal

The New York Rangers have made a good move by landing forward Oliver Bjorkstrand on a one-year deal.

May 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand (22) shoots against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period in game seven of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Benchmark International Arena. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With free agency kicking off Wednesday, the New York Rangers have been busy both in the trade market and have also recently made a signing to help provide some depth. 

Coming into the summer, the Rangers were expected to be an active team, and that has certainly been the case so far. New York kicked things off by making nine selections in the 2026 NHL Draft, led by Alberts Smits with the fifth overall pick. 

The talented defenseman has the chance to come in and help New York right away on the blue line, and that was likely a factor in drafting him. Furthermore, while the addition of Smits was a good one, the team also made a big splash in the first round when they acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Dorofeyev is a very young and talented player who is going to be able to make a positive impact on the team for a long time. As New York continues to retool, he will be an important piece going forward as potentially the best scorer on the team. 

With free agency kicking off, the team has some needs and areas to fill, and they have started to do that. According to reports, the Rangers have signed veteran Oliver Bjorkstrand. 

Bjorkstrand Provides Excellent Depth

Bjorkstrand's deal with NYR is 1-year, $4.5M

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 1, 2026

One of the needs for the team coming into the offseason was to improve their bottom six. Both Mike Sullivan and Chris Drury spoke about this during their end-of-the-season meetings, and that is the role that Bjorkstrand will be looking to fill. 

Last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he totaled 32 points with 12 goals and 20 assists in an average of 13:38 per game. Even though his production dropped a bit with Tampa Bay, he has scored 20 or more goals six times in his career and, at just 31 years old, should have plenty of gas left in the tank. 

With this being a one-year deal for the veteran coming off a bad year, there is a lot to like about the signing. While the Rangers will be trying to compete, Bjorkstrand could be a player moved at the trade deadline for assets if New York is out of the race. Coming off a down year, he will have plenty to prove. For a majority of his career, he has been a solid player, and New York will be hoping to see that when he joins the team.