Blue Jackets sign Bjorkstrand to 3-year deal

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed restricted free-agent forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to a three-year contract on Sunday, the club announced. His new deal carries an annual average value of $2.5 million, according to Brian Hedger of BlueJackets.com.

"Oliver is a gifted player with a tremendous shot and scoring instincts who has improved steadily during his first three seasons as a pro," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He is just scratching the surface of the type of player he can be and we believe he has the potential to be a dynamic offensive player for our club."

Bjorkstrand tallied 11 goals and 29 assists in 82 regular-season games for the Blue Jackets last year, chipping in with one goal and two assists in six playoff games.

The Denmark native was a prolific scorer in lower levels, winning WHL player of the year honors in 2014-15 after racking up a ridiculous 63 goals and 55 assists in 59 games for the Portland Winterhawks. It will be very interesting to see if Bjorkstrand can continue to develop his game at the NHL level.

He was drafted by Columbus in the third round of the 2013 draft (89th overall).