Oilers add size, depth scoring by acquiring Bjugstad from Arizona

Nick Bjugstad is the newest Edmonton Oiler as the team continued to load up for a playoff run.

The 6'6", 215 pound right-shot forward was acquired Thursday afternoon from the Arizona Coyotes for their 2023 third-round draft pick and defenceman Michael Kesselring.

Bjugstad has 13 goals and 23 points this season, both of which rank fifth most on the Oilers roster.

He said he was napping at home with his two-year-old daughter when he got a phone call telling him he had been traded.

"Super excited to join the Oilers here and definitely a team I was hoping I was getting a call about," Bjugstad said.

"Tons of excitement on my end and can't wait to join the boys and try to help this team win a Stanley Cup."

Bjugstad, who scored 19 goals for the Florida Panthers in 2017-18, said he feels he's "reestablished himself" this year after struggling to stay healthy. He scored seven goals last year with Minnesota.

He said he'll likely play for the Oilers on Saturday, which will be his 600th NHL game.

Bjugstad can play both centre and right wing, makes $900,000 this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

The Coyotes agreed to retain 50 per cent of Bjugstad's salary, TSN's Ryan Rishaug reported, making his cap hit to the Oilers $450,000.

The Oilers also get defenceman Cam Dineen in the deal. The 24-year-old was drafted in the third round in 2016 and has seven assists in 34 NHL games. He is left handed and had 35 points in 50 games for the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners this season.

Kesselring, 23, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Oilers in 2018. He had 22 points in 49 games for the AHL Bakersfield Condors this season.

This is the third trade Oilers General Manager Ken Holland has made in as many days. He also brought in big defenceman Mattias Ekholm from Nashville and traded forward Jesse Puljujarvi to Carolina for a prospect on Tuesday.