At the end of last season, a large group of players hit the open market ahead of schedule because they had earned little NHL opportunity. One of those Group VI unrestricted free agents was Lukas Vejdemo, who, despite playing six games with the Montreal Canadiens, was cut loose at the end of the year.
Now, Vejdemo has gone back home. The 27-year-old forward signed a one-year contract with Djurgardens, his old club team, which also includes an option for 2023-24.
The deal comes so late in the year because Vejdemo is only just now recovering from a serious injury suffered just ahead of last year’s AHL playoffs. He had hamstring surgery in April and was given a seven-month timeline. According to the team release, he is still several weeks away from game action.
In 13 career games, all with Montreal, Vejdemo scored two goals. His time in the minor leagues wasn’t much more fruitful offensively, with just 16 points in 34 games for the Laval Rocket last season.
Given how young he is – Vejdemo only turned 27 a few weeks ago – there’s at least a chance that we see him back on North American ice at some point. But a return to Sweden made sense for him as he recovers from major surgery and tries to get his career back on track.