Ahead Nick Bjugstad will enter his thirteenth NHL season with the Utah Hockey Membership in its inaugural marketing campaign. The 32-year-old has performed in 694 video games with 5 totally different groups. Nevertheless, with out refining his sport with the Arizona Coyotes the previous two seasons, he is probably not within the place he’s in as we speak.
Who Is Nick Bjugstad?
The Florida Panthers’ first-round choice (nineteenth general) within the 2010 NHL Entry Draft spent seven years in South Florida. Bjugstad’s career-best season got here in 2017-18 when he scored 19 targets and added 30 assists for 49 factors. He was traded on the following season’s commerce deadline to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 6-foot-6, 209-pounder’s time with the Penguins was short-lived. After taking part in 32 video games within the second half of the 2018-19 season, Bjugstad performed 10 video games the next season earlier than needing core muscle surgical procedure. He returned to play the final three video games of the common season and mustered two factors.
Bjugstad returned residence for the following two seasons with the Minnesota Wild. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and performed ice hockey at Blaine Excessive Faculty. The suitable-handed shot collected 131 factors in 74 video games in his highschool profession. He stayed within the State of Hockey taking part in his school profession on the College of Minnesota. He was an alternate captain in his junior season and performed two seasons with ahead Travis Boyd (who was his teammate the previous two seasons in Arizona.) The 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons had been injury-riddled for Bjugstad. He tallied 20 factors in 101 video games with the Wild.
Two Years within the Desert
With questions surrounding his skill to play a full season and degree of play, the Coyotes signed Bjugstad to an inexpensive one-year deal price $900,000 on July 13, 2022. Arizona desperately wanted so as to add depth to their ahead core coming into the 2022-23 season and he match the invoice based on now-Utah’s common supervisor Invoice Armstrong.
“We’re more than happy to have Nick be part of the Coyotes,” Armstrong mentioned on the time. “He’s an enormous, robust, two-way ahead who will present expertise and management. We look ahead to having him on our roster subsequent season.”
Bjugstad definitely lived as much as every part Armstrong had hoped for and extra. In 59 video games throughout the 2022-23 season, he lit the lamp 13 instances and added 10 helpers for 23 factors. He was a plus-11 on a shedding Coyotes workforce and 11 of his 13 targets got here at even power. His spectacular turn-around marketing campaign drew curiosity from the Edmonton Oilers on the 2023 NHL Commerce Deadline. Subsequently, he was traded together with defenseman Cam Dineen for defenseman Michael Kesselring and a 2023 third-round decide.
Associated: Nick Bjugstad Proving His Price to the Coyotes
Getting into the 2023 offseason, Bjugstad’s one-year deal was up for renewal. The Oilers selected to not re-sign him and he hit the open market in July. Arizona wasted no time bringing again their two-way middle, signing him to a two-year deal price $2.1 million per season on the primary day of free company.
“We’re more than happy to have Nick re-join the Coyotes,” Armstrong mentioned on the time. “He’s a dependable two-way middle, chief, and an amazing teammate. We look ahead to having him again on our roster once more this season.”
To date, the Minnesota product has lived as much as the extent of his contract. Final season, Bjugstad collected 22 targets and added 23 assists for 45 factors in 76 video games. At 31 years previous, he recorded his second-best offensive season of his profession (it had been six years since he got here near his 49-point season in 2017-18.) Moreover, he was tied with Kesselring for the Coyotes’ second-best plus/minus ranking at plus-11. He additionally was Arizona’s go-to centerman within the faceoff circle, profitable 617 attracts (which was the workforce’s greatest).
If that was not sufficient, 19 of his 21 targets got here throughout 5 on 5 play. Bjugstad was the whole package deal for now-Utah head coach André Tourigny. He performed wherever within the Coyotes’ top-nine ahead core, and when ahead Barrett Hayton went down twice with accidents, Bjugstad centered forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz on Arizona’s high line. When forwards Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, and Lawson Crouse began clicking on the second line, he performed a third-line function.
His two-way talents gave him time on the Coyotes’ power-play and penalty-killing models as nicely. Like his teammate ahead Alex Kerfoot, he’s one other Swiss Military knife at Tourginy’s disposal for this upcoming season.
Bjugstad’s Slot in Utah
Utah’s ahead core has not skilled a lot change this offseason and Bjugstad ought to proceed to carry his top-nine function this upcoming season. Here’s a have a look at what the opening-night ahead strains might appear like:
Clayton Keller — Barrett Hayton — Nick Schmaltz
Dylan Guenther — Logan Cooley — Lawson Crouse
Matias Maccelli — Nick Bjugstad — Josh Doan
Michael Carcone/Liam O’Brien — Jack McBain/Alex Kerfoot — Kevin Stenlund
With McBain, Kerfoot, and Carcone all being able to shouldering third-line minutes, Bjugstad could also be pushed extra this season to take care of his spot on with Maccelli and Doan. Assuming everybody stills wholesome, Utah could have two additional forwards who present stable depth choices.
Getting into the ultimate 12 months of contract, search for Bjugstad to proceed to offer veteran management (he’s at present Utah’s oldest ahead) and two-way play fashion.
