Flames sign Joakim Nordstrom (one year, $700K)

Surprise, surprise, the Calgary Flames have signed another player from Sweden. The club announced Monday afternoon that they’ve signed forward Joakim Nordstrom to a one year (one-way) deal worth $700,000.

A product of scenic Stockholm, Sweden, the 28-year-old Nordstrom is a left shot forward who plays centre and the wing. He was a third round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 NHL Draft. He’s played 400 NHL games between Chicago, Carolina and Boston. He won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2015.

Nordstrom had four goals and seven points in 48 games for Boston last season, but his real value to the Flames may be on special teams. He was fifth among Bruins forwards in shorthanded time on ice (despite playing 22 games less than most of his teammates) and seems destined to be slotted on the Flames’ fourth line alongside Derek Ryan and Glenn Gawdin.

The Flames’ most-used penalty killing forwards in 2019-20 were Elias Lindholm, Derek Ryan, Mark Jankowski, Mikael Backlund and Tobias Rieder. With Jankowski and Rieder gone in free agency, Nordstrom’s signing helps fill a key niche in the lineup at an extremely low cost. It’s worth noting that he doesn’t move the needle very much at even strength – seven points in 48 games is very much in his wheelhouse – so this is entirely a special teams signing.

Nordstrom is the 10th Swedish player on the Flames reserve list, joining Lindholm, Backlund, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington, Jacob Markstrom, Carl-Johan Lerby, Johannes Kinnvall, Lucas Feuk and Filip Sveningsson.