Avalanche forward linked to Swiss National League
After two seasons in the NHL and AHL, Avalanche forward Fredrik Olofsson’s time stateside may be coming to an end. The pending UFA has been linked to EV Zug of the Swiss National League on the open market this summer, Johan Svensson of the Swedish publication Expressen reports. Notably, it appears the Swedish forward won’t be returning to SHL club IK Oskarshamn, where he spent two seasons prior to signing as a free agent with the Stars in 2022.
Olofsson, 27, was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014. However, after a post-draft season in major junior play with the USHL’s Chicago Steel and a four-year career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he was not signed to an NHL contract and became a free agent when his exclusive signing rights expired in the summer of 2019. He headed back home to Sweden for the first time in his career, having played all of his youth hockey in the United States, and signed a one-year deal with MODO Hockey, then of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. After impressing with 34 points and a +15 rating in 52 games, he garnered interest from teams in Sweden’s top division and landed with Oskarshamn in 2020.
The 6-foot-2 forward was a natural fit there, recording 42 points in 49 games during the 2021-22 campaign and generating NHL interest as a result. Dallas landed him after his SHL season ended, inking him to a one-year, one-way contract in May 2022. He didn’t crack the team out of camp but ended up getting significant NHL time nonetheless, recording a goal and three assists in 28 games while playing fourth-line minutes. Injuries and suspensions meant Olofsson had a chance to play in a handful of postseason contests, too, playing twice in the Stars’ Western Conference Final loss to the Golden Knights.
Olofsson was looking for more NHL opportunities than that, however. With Dallas unlikely to re-sign him, they traded his signing rights to the Avalanche last June in exchange for future considerations. He immediately inked a one-year (and, surprisingly, two-way) contract with the Avs, who were facing a heavy amount of turnover among their depth forwards.
