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The Calgary Flames have signed Joakim Nordstrom to a one-year contract worth $700,000.
The 28-year-old Swedish winger played most recently with the Boston Bruins, where his results were rather...poor.
He amassed just 19 points in 118 games played during his tenure in Boston, which equates to 13 points over an 82-game schedule. That’s bottom of the barrel production for a regular NHL player, even one playing limited minutes on the 4th line.
That kind of production wouldn’t be a big deal if Nordstrom was a plus-defender that made up for a lack of offense by completely neutering the opposition’s. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case for him.
His defensive metrics have left a lot to be desired. Over the last two seasons, he ranks 12/13 Bruins forwards in attempts, chances, and expected goals against per 60 minutes; not ideal for a player whose specialty is supposed to be defense.
There isn't much he excels at, to be frank.
Nordstrom does have a lot of NHL experience and he can hang on the penalty kill. I do see why the Flames, a team with depth issues up front, would be enticed to give him a shot at league minimum.
I just don’t think Nordstrom is going to move the needle much, if at all. The bottom-6 was an issue for much of last season and, to me, the Flames haven’t made any moves that will rectify that.
They better hope Dillon Dube can continue to make big strides forward, and that Sam Bennett looks like the guy we saw in the playoffs. If not, I think the bottom-6 is going to be a wasteland.
Signing Nordstrom won’t change that.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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