For the legendary “future considerations”
The Chicago Blackhawks have added another player on Thursday afternoon, acquiring Anders Bjork from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for future considerations.
The report came from TSN’s Darren Dreger, who provided some insight on why the deal happened:
*Chicago. No idea what happened there. Lol. https://t.co/7xLt2I8w60
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 2, 2023
The Blackhawks have since confirmed the trade:
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 2, 2023
Bjork, 26, was a fifth-round pick (146th overall) of the Boston Bruins in the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his debut a few years later, skating in 30 games during the 2017-18 season with four goals and eight assists. He tallied 22 points (10 G, 12 A) over 78 games in the next two seasons before being traded to the Sabres in April 2021 as part of the Taylor Hall deal. He’s in the final year of a 3-year deal he signed with the Bruins with an annual cap hit of $1.6 million and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Last season, Bjork played 58 games with the Sabres, scoring five goals with three assists and an average ice time of 12:02. But he has only appeared in one NHL game this season and, as Dreger mentioned, wanted to see if he could find more NHL time elsewhere. In 42 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans this season, Bjork has 25 points (8 G, 17 A).
The question is where Bjork will end up with the Blackhawks. For now, that answer appears to be in the NHL, according to Ben Pope of the Sun-Times:
Bjork is a 26-year-old winger who has spent this season in the AHL but spent the last four in the NHL. He’s expected to join the Hawks tomorrow.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 2, 2023