Last month, the Bruins gave Oskar Steen’s camp permission to talk to other teams about trying to secure the pending free agent a contract to stay in the NHL and that his focus wasn’t overseas. However, a deal didn’t come to fruition so the middleman has decided to return home as SHL Farjestad announced that they’ve signed Steen to a five-year contract.
The 26-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Boston back in 2016, going 165th overall. He spent three more years in Sweden with Farjestad before coming to North America for the 2019-20 season.
Steen got his first taste of NHL action in the 2020-21 campaign but got a longer look the following season, getting into 20 games with the big club while adding 35 points in 49 games with AHL Providence. That earned him a two-year, one-way deal and seemingly had him in the mix for a full-time spot with Boston for the 2022-23 campaign.
Instead, Steen wound up clearing waivers and spent most of that season in the minors. He then cleared waivers twice more last season although injuries resulted in him getting into 34 games with Boston but he was limited to one goal on 24 shots while logging a little more than nine minutes a night on the fourth line. He was more productive in Providence with 12 goals in 25 games but Boston decided not to try to retain him, instead letting him walk to Group Six free agency.
With the length of this contract, Steen won’t become a free agent again until his age-31 season so it would be surprising to see him generate NHL interest at that time unless he becomes a top scorer in the coming years with Farjestad. If it is the end of the road for him at the top level, he leaves the NHL with four goals and four assists in 60 career appearances.