The Blue Jackets have signed Swedish forward Jakob Lilja to a one-year, entry-level contract worth $925k.
SIGNING: #CBJ have signed forward Jakob Lilja to a one-year entry level contract.https://t.co/gnpzCLnOzZ
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) June 15, 2019
Lilja, who led Djurgårdens of the SHL in scoring this past season, is a 6'0, 194 lb left winger who should challenge for playing time on a Blue Jackets club that is lacking for depth on the left side of their forward group.
The Blue Jackets scouts have undoubtedly seen the undrafted Lilja play many times, as he is the teammate of one of the club's top prospects, Emil Bemström, who led the team (and SHL) in goals. Lilja finished tied for 10th in league scoring with 12-25-37 in 52 regular season games and added 3-5-8 in 19 playoff games, as Djurgårdens fell to Frölunda in the league finals.
The fact that Lilja was leaving the SHL for the Blue Jackets was announced on Saturday by Djurgårdens, who subsequently deleted the tweet and replaced it with a more vague tweet that didn't specify Columbus was the destination.
