- Phil Di Giuseppe signed a one-year deal with SHL club Bjorkloven
- The 31-year-old winger cleared waivers and never got an NHL call-up last season
- Read below for the full breakdown of Di Giuseppe’s move to Sweden
Phil Di Giuseppe is taking his game to Sweden.
The veteran winger signed a one-year deal with IF Bjorkloven of the SHL, the club announced this week. It closes the book, at least for now, on an NHL career that stretched across parts of nine seasons.
Bjorkloven is getting a real veteran. The Umea club just earned promotion to Sweden’s top league for the first time in 25 years, and Di Giuseppe gives them a forward with more than 300 NHL games on his resume as they try to avoid a quick trip back down.
Di Giuseppe signed a one-year, two-way deal with Winnipeg last summer and looked like a depth option who would push for a roster spot or be an early recall. It didn’t work out. The Jets waived him early in camp, he cleared, and he spent the whole year with AHL Manitoba without a single call-up.
He still produced for the Moose. Di Giuseppe put up 15 goals and 20 assists in 72 games to tie for third on the team in scoring, and as a reigning Calder Cup champion he brought real playoff experience to a young Manitoba group.
His career line reads 302 NHL games, 81 points and 661 hits. He had six points in 20 games with Vancouver in 2024-25 and played a career-high 51 NHL contests the season before that.
Rather than chase another AHL veteran deal and hope for a mid-season recall, Di Giuseppe is the latest NHL name to pick a fresh start overseas. He joins a growing group heading to Europe this summer, including Matej Blumel, who signed in Czechia days earlier.
In Umea, he should get the top-six minutes and power-play looks that never came in Winnipeg.
