The Los Angeles Kings were eliminated in Round 1 of the 2024 Playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers, and changes are needed. After promoting interim head coach Jim Hiller to permanent head coach, the team echoed a need for improvement in the forward core, specifically regarding goal-scoring from around the net. This desire for change began with the departure of Pierre-Luc Dubois and is unlikely to end there. With options cut out for the Kings, could they go after Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand?
Why Bjorkstrand Makes Sense for the Kings
The Kraken acquired Bjorkstrand in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 offseason that saw a third and fourth-round draft pick go in Columbus’ direction. At the time, it was seen as a steal for Seattle, and that belief remains today. Bjorkstrand has put up back-to-back 20-goal seasons while providing above-average defense.
Bjorkstrand is not known for his physical presence but he is not afraid to do what is needed to get in position. He is a hard worker who finished second in scoring for the Kraken with 59 points, a number that would likely improve on most other NHL teams. While he finished with a plus/minus rating of minus-20, there is far more to his defensive game.
Related: Analyzing the Capitals & Kings Dubois-for-Kuemper Trade
Bjorkstrand finished the 2023-24 season with 63 takeaways and 24 giveaways, according to Moneypuck. He finished with a 54.2 on-ice goals percentage, the second highest among Kraken forwards, and a 60.5 on-ice expected goals percentage (xG%), third highest among Kraken forwards. xG% is a ratio of a team’s expected goals (xG) in comparison to the average player, so anything over 50% indicates a player had a higher expected goal total than the average player.
On Moneypuck’s expected goals database, players such as Connor McDavid, Matthew Tkachuk, Matt Boldy, and Jason Robertson top the list of xG%. To put it simply, Bjorkstrand would provide a lot of value to the Kings, not only because of his dominant presence but also because he led many notable Kings’ forwards in this statistic, such as Dubois, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault, and Trevor Moore. Of course, advanced statistics are only advanced statistics, but there are countless pieces of evidence to show that Bjorkstrand would be a great addition to the Kings.
What makes the most sense with Bjorkstrand being a fit in Los Angeles is his positional value and contract situation. The team lacks right-handed forwards, so he would seamlessly join the top six and be just the only other right-handed lineup regular in the forward core alongside Alex Laferriere.
The Kings will also be tight to the salary cap this offseason, so adding a top-six forward like Bjorkstrand who is making just $5.4 million would be a great value addition. He also has two seasons remaining on his contract, lining up well with other core players on the Kings, such as Kopitar, Kempe, and Brandt Clarke.
Why Would the Kraken Move Bjorkstrand?
There have been no reports of the Kraken shopping Bjorkstrand, and with everything said above, why should the team move him? At this point, it depends on the direction they choose to take, but it may make more sense to add young players and draft capital to prepare for the future.
Seattle has a plethora of young forward talent, such as Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Carson Rehkopf, Eduard Sale, Jagger Firkus, Jani Nyman, David Goyette, Tye Kartye, and others. The team also has three picks in the first two rounds of the 2024 Draft, but no additional picks in the first three rounds in any future drafts. So, the Kings could help the Kraken get younger while also adding draft picks to their prospect pool.
A potential deal would start with 22-year-old Arthur Kaliyev. Once a top prospect, he has faced challenges in securing a permanent spot in the Kings’ lineup, shifting from a projected top-six winger to an NHL middle-six hopeful. Although he has the potential to become a winger who scores 20-plus goals and 50-plus points, it seems unlikely he’ll reach that level with the Kings due to their abundance of NHL forwards.
Additionally, the Kings would offer Seattle a second-round pick in either the 2025 or 2026 Drafts and a fourth-round pick in one of the 2024, 2025, or 2026 Drafts. While this may not seem like a significant return, acquiring Kaliyev along with these picks in exchange for Bjorkstrand would represent excellent asset management by Kraken general manager Ron Francis.
With the Kings already active this offseason, additional moves are evidently on the horizon. Whether it be through free agency or trades, they are likely to be adding a two-way, goal-scoring threat to their forward core, and Bjorkstrand appears to be a perfect fit.
