Bjork agrees to three-year, $4.8 million contract with Bruins

Anders Bjork agreed to a three-year, $4.8 million contract with the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $1.6 million.

The 23-year-old forward scored an NHL career-high 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 58 games and could have become a restricted free agent after this season.

"I still think there's some projection in terms of whether or not Anders [improves from a] scoring and offensive standpoint, but he has filled in the gaps defensively," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said. "I know he wants to continue to get better. He's got to find the confidence at the NHL level to be able to score and finish, and if not he's got to be a real good two-way hockey player that adds speed and versatility to a lineup. But we still hope and feel like he will produce."

Selected by Boston in the fifth round (No. 146) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Bjork made his NHL debut with the Bruins on Oct. 5, 2017, and has 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 108 regular-season games.

The Bruins play their first round-robin game Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub. They also play the Tampa Bay Lightning (Aug. 6) and Washington Capitals (Aug. 9) to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the East.

Boston plays an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Toronto on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, NHL.TV, FS-O, NESN).

NHL.com Staff Writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report