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Alexander Nylander

Penguins Re-Sign Alex Nylander To One-Year Deal

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Alex Nylander acquitted himself well in some late-season appearances with Pittsburgh and he was rewarded for his efforts on Saturday.  The team announced that they’ve signed the forward to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $775K.  He was set to become a restricted free agent in July.

The 25-year-old played his first full season with the Penguins organization this season after being acquired from Chicago in exchange for Sam Lafferty back in January 2022.  Nylander spent the bulk of the year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL and did quite well offensively, setting career highs with 25 goals and 25 assists in 55 games.  He got into nine games with Pittsburgh down the stretch, collecting a goal and an assist while averaging a little over 12 minutes a night.

Nylander is only three seasons removed from being pretty much an NHL regular as he had 26 points in 65 games with Chicago back in 2019-20 but hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time spot at the top level since then.  His stock fell far enough to the point where he cleared waivers back in October this season, something that would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago.

But the 2016 eighth-overall selection continues to show flashes of top-six skill and that has earned him at least one more look from a Penguins team that is currently operating without a general manager.  Clearly, the group of individuals helping run things for now – including head coach Mike Sullivan – have seen enough to deem Nylander worthy of another opportunity when training camps open up in September.

Henri Jokiharju Won’t Return To Tonight’s Game

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The Buffalo Sabres have announced that defenseman Henri Jokiharju won’t return to tonight’s game after leaving with a lower body injury. Jokiharju left the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after logging just 2:43 of ice time a registering a single shot. The former first round pick will finish the season with 13 points in 60 games.

The 23-year-old is in his fourth season with Buffalo after coming over to the Sabres in a trade that sent Alexander Nylander to the Chicago Blackhawks. He established a career high in points last season with 19 points in 60 games. While he couldn’t produce the same offense that he did last season, he continued to kill a lot of penalties for the Sabres while providing a steady defensive presence.

Jokiharju has had issues staying healthy as he has never been able to play a full NHL season. Although he is unlikely to miss any time due to this injury, he did miss a month of hockey back in December with another lower body injury. That injury was from blocking a shot against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which isn’t that surprising for a penalty killing defenseman.

Jokiharju will be hoping for a full summer of rest and training as the Sabres look to take the next step in their rebuild. Buffalo didn’t qualify for the playoffs this season but were in the mix until the last week of the year. With much of their core coming back next season, and a potential franchise goalie now in the mix, Buffalo figures to be a team that can contend for a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.

Pittsburgh Penguins Reassign Alex Nylander

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that forward Alex Nylander has been returned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. With Wilkes-Barre Scranton set to play the Laval Rocket today, this reassignment gives the AHL Penguins one of their top scorers back.

Nylander, 25, has this season made himself into an extremely effective AHL scorer. After spending some of the earlier years of his career as an up-and-down player without truly dominant AHL numbers, Nylander’s AHL value has grown as his NHL promise has faded. This year, he has scored 25 goals and 50 points in the AHL, and earned seven NHL games in Pittsburgh.

Nylander has scored two points in that seven-game span, including an important goal yesterday against the Detroit Red Wings, a game the Penguins badly needed to win. Nylander played the bulk of his NHL games this season in a six-game span in March, beginning with a March 7th overtime victory over Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Penguins have gone 4-3 with Nylander on their roster, and he’s helped them at an important time in their season. With AHL Pittsburgh out of the AHL playoffs with three games remaining, this reassignment gives Nylander the chance to put the finishing touches on his successful individual AHL campaign before likely returning to support the Penguins as a reserve player should they reach the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Alexander Nylander

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Apr. 7: Nylander is once again back up with Pittsburgh after being recalled on an emergency basis.

Apr. 6: A few hours after being recalled, it seems Nylander is headed back down to Wilkes-Barre Scranton. The Penguins announced in advance of their game tonight against the Minnesota Wild that Nylander has been reassigned back to their AHL affiliate.

Apr. 3: According to a team release, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent forward Alexander Nylander down to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Monday.

Nylander, 25, heads back to the minors after sitting as a healthy scratch for eight straight games. He’s one of Pittsburgh’s best recall options out of their relatively thin depth in the AHL but was a week away from requiring waivers to head back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Pittsburgh remains locked into a tight battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as they look to keep their 16-year postseason streak alive, by far the longest in the league. With salary cap constraints, though, they’re forced to carry a trim roster, having less than $100,000 in space before returning Nylander to the minors.

The eighth-overall pick in 2016 is having by far his best season in the AHL, leading the team in goals and points per game. His 25 goals and 25 assists in 54 games have given him his first 50-point season, marking another step in a long road back to potential NHL relevancy after an injury-plagued development period.

He could remain a lineup option for the Penguins in the playoffs if they make it there. He has one assist in six games this season with Pittsburgh, his first NHL point since the 2019-20 season.

Metropolitan Notes: Kuemper, Trineyev, Pyyhtia, Lindgren, Nylander

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Capitals netminder Darcy Kuemper left practice early today after sustaining an upper-body injury, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link).  At this point, it’s unknown if he’ll be available to play on Sunday in Minnesota.  If he does miss time, it will be the second time that the 32-year-old has been out with an injury this season as he missed eight games back in December.  Despite that, Kuemper has had a decent first year with Washington, posting a 2.77 GAA with a .910 SV% and a league-high five shutouts in 48 starts.  If Kuemper can’t play, Charlie Lindgren will take over as the interim starter for the Caps.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with Washington, the Capitals have re-assigned forward Bogdan Trineyev from KHL Dynamo Moscow to AHL Hershey, per a team release. The 21-year-old had 13 points in 39 games during the regular season while adding a pair of assists in the KHL playoffs before being eliminated.  Trineyev got into two games with Hershey in the playoffs last season and should have a chance to see more action with them this time around.
  • The Blue Jackets announced that they have re-assigned winger Mikael Pyyhtia to AHL Cleveland. The 21-year-old spent the season with TPS in Finland, picking up just seven goals in 47 games after putting up 21 in 56 contests in 2021-22 which helped him earn an entry-level contract last May.  His season over there came to an end so he will now get his first taste of action in North America down the stretch.
  • While Ryan Lindgren was a full participant in practice today, the defenseman isn’t likely to play tonight, relays Larry Brooks of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has been out for the last four weeks with an upper-body injury.  The Rangers opted not to place him on LTIR at the time, opting to play short players earlier this month as a result but in hindsight, they would have been able to get away with putting him there and then send players down once Lindgren is cleared to return, which should be quite soon now.
  • The Penguins recently reclassified Alexander Nylander’s recall from an emergency one to a regular one, notes Rob Rossi of The Athletic (Twitter link). In doing so, Nylander is allowed to remain up with the team even when it’s not an emergency situation but it also means they use one of their four allowable post-deadline recalls.  They have two remaining now; the other was used on a paper transaction with Drew O’Connor.

Injury Notes: Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Detroit Red Wings coach Derek LaLonde announced that defenseman Ben Chiarot is week-to-week with an upper body injury, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Chiarot played just over 19 minutes in Detroit’s 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. He is in the first season of a four-year contract with the Red Wings at a cap hit of $4.75MM.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ryan Poehling has been activated from injured reserve, the team announced on Twitter. Poehling last played on Feb. 11 in a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He has 11 points in 38 games this season for the Pens, his first in Pittsburgh. Poehling has scored 18 goals in his career, three of which came in his NHL debut in 2019. Also announced by the Penguins was Alexander Nylander’s recall status being updated from emergency recall to regular recall. Nylander has played four games for Pittsburgh this season, recording an assist, and has played well in the AHL, with 25 goals and 25 assists for 50 points in 54 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Snapshots: Nylander, Bear, Gogolev, Wanner

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Alex Nylander’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the Penguins announced that they’ve recalled the winger from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis.  The 25-year-old had an assist in his debut with Pittsburgh on Tuesday but was sent back to the minors soon after.  In order to qualify to use an emergency recall, the Penguins appear to have a forward that won’t be available to play on Saturday against Philadelphia but with no practice today, it’s not known which player could be missing.  Nylander has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, notching 25 goals and 25 assists in 54 games.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While the Canucks have had extension talks with defenseman Ethan Bear, his agent Jason Davidson indicated in an appearance on CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali (audio link) that there haven’t been any recent discussions since the All-Star break. The 25-year-old has rebounded relatively well this season, picking up 14 points in 46 games while averaging 18:16 per game since being acquired from Carolina in late October.  Bear is two years away from UFA eligibility and it’s worth noting that Davidson indicated that the contract will either be a one-year or a three-year agreement to avoid walking him right to the open market.
  • It didn’t take long for winger Pavel Gogolev to find his new team. In fact, he’s going back to his old team as ECHL Newfoundland announced that the 23-year-old has signed an AHL contract with Toronto and then was loaned back to the Growlers.  Gogolev has 48 points in 33 games with Newfoundland this season and was included for contract-matching purposes in the trade that saw the Maple Leafs pick up Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty late last month.  He cleared unconditional waivers earlier this week to terminate his contract.
  • Last month, the WHL suspended four Moose Jaw players indefinitely pending further investigation, including Oilers prospect Maximus Wanner. Today, the league announced that all four players have been suspended for the remainder of the season.  As part of their release, the league indicated that the players will be required to complete further personal conduct and respect training before becoming eligible to return next season.  No specifics for what resulted in this were revealed but Edmonton police confirmed that it is not a criminal matter.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Ryan Poehling On LTIR, Recall Alex Nylander

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The Pittsburgh Penguins today placed forward Ryan Poehling on long-term injured reserve and used an emergency recall on forward Alex Nylander, per a team release.

Poehling’s LTIR placement is retroactive to February 14, meaning he’s eligible to be activated as soon as tomorrow. The 24-year-old forward has missed the past 10 games with a lingering upper-body injury.

Nylander, the eighth overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft and the younger brother of William Nylander, earns his first recall as a member of the Penguins organization. Acquired in a one-for-one swap for Sam Lafferty with the Chicago Blackhawks last year, Nylander is amidst a breakout season in the AHL with 25 goals and 50 points in 54 games.

While he won’t reach the ceiling of a top-ten draft pick, his steady offensive increase in the minors over the past few years suggests Nylander can carve out a consistent NHL role for himself shortly. It wasn’t long ago that he produced decent numbers in a full-time opportunity with Chicago, recording 26 points in 65 games in 2019-20 before a knee injury held him out of the 2020-21 season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Alex Nylander

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed minor league forward Alexander Nylander to a one-year, two-way contract for 2022-23. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K, and keep him from reaching restricted free agency. CapFriendly reports that the deal will pay $300K in the AHL.

No longer a top prospect, the 24-year-old Nylander hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2019-20 season and is now on his third team since being the eighth-overall pick in 2016. Acquired for Sam Lafferty in early 2022, he did somewhat find his stride after joining the Penguins organization, scoring 14 goals and 30 points in 44 AHL games.

Talented but inconsistent, the young forward has just 84 regular season games at the NHL level since debuting five years ago. Signing him to a deal like this poses no risk for the Penguins but time is running out on Nylander if he’s ever going to become an impact player at the NHL level. One thing in his favor is the fact that he now must clear waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues, meaning even if he can’t latch on in Pittsburgh, he’ll have a chance to go somewhere else and test his mettle at the NHL level–if someone wants to take that chance, at least.

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Alex Nylander

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be the next team that tries to get an NHL player out of Alex Nylander. They’ve acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Sam Lafferty.

The one-for-one deal will see Nylander leave the Blackhawks organization after just 65 regular season games. Selected eighth overall in 2016, he arrived in Chicago after a trade from the Buffalo Sabres in 2019, played the entire 2019-20 season before suffering a major knee injury that kept him out all of last year. Through 23 games in the minor leagues this season, he has eight goals and 12 points.

A dynamic forward in Sweden and the OHL, Nylander managed just 19 games with the Sabres before being shipped out of town for Henri Jokiharju. His work ethic has been questioned at times (rightly or wrongly), while his consistency has always been an issue. Even in the minor leagues there have been times where he disappears, and so much time off due to the knee recovery has not helped. There is still upside in the 23-year-old, something that the Penguins will obviously try to coax out, but it’s beginning to seem like Nylander has missed his opportunity to be an impact player at the NHL level.

That seems to be Chicago’s take, as Lafferty represents a depth option without much upside. The 26-year-old forward has 94 games under his belt at the NHL level, with six goals and 21 points to show for it. None of those six goals have come since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, with him seeing far less ice time in Pittsburgh over the last two seasons. In fact, he’s played just ten games this year despite Pittsburgh dealing with many injuries and averages fewer than nine minutes even when he gets into the lineup.

Nylander will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and remain in Pittsburgh’s control as long as the team issues him a qualifying offer. That’s no guarantee, though the threat of arbitration is still a year away due to his lost season.

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