A day after speaking to the media, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas has swung a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins have acquired forward Emil Bemstrom from Columbus in exchange for forward Alex Nylander and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2026.
From the Penguins perspective, it didn’t look as though Nylander was a fit with head coach Mike Sullivan’s style of play as he spent most of his time with the Penguins organization in the AHL. In the past two seasons, Nylander dressed in 14 NHL games and had a goal and an assist while getting several looks in the Penguins top six, something he was never able to turn into offensive production. The eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft has never lived up to his pre-draft expectations and now finds himself with his fourth NHL franchise in eight years.
The Blue Jackets likely view the draft pick as the central piece of the deal. Although a sixth-round pick in two drafts isn’t exactly a haul, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that the pick becomes a third-round pick if Bemstrom scores six goals the rest of this season with Pittsburgh.
In Bemstrom, the Penguins are acquiring a 24-year-old with some speed who was available on waivers just a few months ago. The former fourth-round pick his five goals and six assists in 32 games this season after posting a career-high 22 points in 55 games last year. He spent eight games in the AHL this season where he was dominant with 10 goals and four assists.
The move could be the first of many for the Penguins as Dubas mentioned yesterday that getting younger would be a priority and the Penguins could also make a bigger move if they elect to move on from pending free agent Jake Guentzel.
“ the pick becomes a third-round pick if Bemstrom scores six goals the rest of this season with Pittsburgh” you can tell Columbus confidence in Bemstrom
6 goals in 28 games is a lot to ask. He only has 5 all year, and he hasn’t come close to this pace since potting 10 as a rookie.
It looks like the Pens and CBJs play three times in March. Just let Bemstrom score whenever he’s on the ice and the Bluejackets can upgrade that pick themselves, hahaha
(3/5/24, 3/28/24, 3/30/24)
Imagine the real chess match being the Penguins start demanding he passes and doesn’t shoot. Or has him as a healthy scratch all three games
Help me make sense of this….
Why throw in a pick for a guy that no one wanted on waivers a few weeks ago.
What can he possibly bring to the Pens? Where does he fit that draft capital was needed?
I know it’s a 2026 6th but that seems like it should have been enough in itself
Between then and now, Kekalainen got fired. Nylander is not exactly gonna set the world on fire, but he’s a player with some upside that might be able to stick on a struggling Columbus team.
From Pittsburgh’s end though, yeah, this deal makes no damn sense. They’re not gonna make the playoffs, and Bemstrom is not gonna change that. Losing White might have something to do with it. Like a panic buy.
Dubas has made a lot of really stupid moves in a very short tenure…
Crosbys next project, to replace guentzel….
A 6th that can become a 3rd? Strange?
But only during a full moon when the Earth is passing through Taurus.
Dubas is the David Wilcock of the Hockey World.
Prediction: Dubas is fired by mid-Dec 2024. Then Dubas, tail between legs, goes on to become an ignored author and motivational/organization improvement speaker, and never again holds an upper level management position in the NHL. Upon Dubas’ dismissal, Jason Spezza resigns his position as Asst GM and starts a candy company called Spez. Spezza is then quickly sued by Austrian candy company Pez. Days after Dubas is booted, Pro Hockey Rumors readers are then stunned by the news that consistently incorrect commenter ‘Wilf Paiement’ is on the short list of potential replacements for Dubas.
A) Bizarre trade.
B) What did Dubas do to these people to engender such a pathological hatred? Send them a video of himself with their wife and mom?
Hextall was awful, he’s gone, I’ve basically forgotten about him.
These people will go to the ends of the Earth to spit in his face.
Dubas gets an extra layer of shade because a) he was the GM in the world’s biggest hockey city (Toronto), and b) because he was lauded as this wunderkind analytics wizard but never really made a strong impact on Toronto’s roster. He lost his job after year over year of playoff disappointments, and now Toronto is saddled with a few massive contracts and not much cash left for goaltending or roleplayers.
Look at all the comments about 2 tweeners that may never grab a permanent NHL spot! We are all so hungry to see a real trade!!!
Sad but true.