Joakim Nygård Returning to Sweden for 2021/22 Season

Edmonton Oilers winger Joakim Nygård is headed back to his native Sweden for the 2021/22 season. A report from a Swedish sports outlet, Sport Bladet, says that Nygård has agreed to a contract with SHL club, Färjestad BK. The contract is expected to be around five or six years.

This won’t be anything new for Nygård. The speedy winger played with Farjestad from 2012 to 2019 and spent part of the 2020/21 season playing with them. He first came over to the NHL when the Oilers signed him in May of 2019.

He played a grand total of 42 games with Edmonton, nine of which came this past season. Nygård came to the NHL advertised as a skilled winger with good speed and offensive instincts. While his speed was impressive he struggled to find a regular spot in the lineup and only managed to score 9pts in that span.

It’s pretty clear that his lack of playing time factored into his decision. He is highly regarded in the SHL and was one of the league’s more prolific scorers before coming to North America.

It is a bit of a mystery why he wasn’t able to get into more games this past season. The Oilers bottom-six struggled mightily and logic would dictate that a player of Nygård’s skillset could’ve helped them be more competitive.

In the end, we wish Joakim Nygård the best in his future endeavors.