Most fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins are on edge waiting to see if president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas will deal injured winger Jake Guentzel before the March 8 trade deadline.

So when the Penguins took to social media platform X on Thursday evening to announce a trade — as the Penguins were in the middle of a game against Montreal, no less — some probably expected to read dreaded news of Guentzel’s departure.

That remains a possibility, but Thursday’s trade news was of more modest nature.

Forward Emil Bemstrom was dealt to the Penguins from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Alex Nylander and a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2026, which upgrades to a third-round selection if Bemstrom scores six goals with Pittsburgh by season’s end.

He carries a cap hit of $900,000 and will become a restricted free agent after the season.

After a day off Friday, the Penguins returned to practice Saturday in Cranberry, allowing the 24-year-old Bemstrom, a native of Nykoping, Sweden, to take stock of his new club.

“I was a little bit in shock about (the trade Thursday) but just super excited to be here and play for this great organization,” Bemstrom said. “It’s a great opportunity for me here now, and I’ve just got to prove myself. I have the opportunity, too, to show that. So we’ll just go from there.”

Bemstrom contributed five goals and six assists over 32 games with the Blue Jackets while splitting time (eight games) with Columbus’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

A fourth-round pick (No. 117 overall) by Columbus in the 2017 NHL Draft, Bemstrom had played his entire career over parts of five seasons with the Blue Jackets, displaying modest scoring touch while factoring in regularly on the power play.

He was averaging 12 minutes, 54 seconds of ice time per game.

As Bemstrom got settled, Saturday offered a similar opportunity for his new coaches and teammates to get a feel for him.

“I think he’s a guy that really shoots the puck well. I think that’s one of his strengths,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has good offensive instincts, he skates pretty well, so he could help us in a number of different ways.

“We’re trying to encourage our power-play groups to shoot the puck a little more. That’s an opportunity for him to help us in that regard.”

Scored by Emil Bemstrom with 07:31 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Kent Johnson and Andrew Peeke.

Columbus: 4Seattle: 6#SEAvsCBJ #CBJ #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/7LPfUJZ8Dm

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 14, 2024

At his debut practice, Bemstrom skated as right wing on Lars Eller’s third line along with Reilly Smith.

Sullivan also promptly inserted Bemstrom on one of the club’s power-play units, joined by Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Jeff Carter and Smith.

“He’s got a great shot,” fellow winger Rickard Rakell said. “A smart hockey player (and) dangerous around the net. … Emil is going to help our team to make a push here. Obviously, it’s very welcoming.”

Bemstrom’s career best in goals came as a rookie in 2019-20, when he netted 10 goals as well as 10 assists.

Last year, in 55 games, he contributed a career-high 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists).

Through 204 career NHL contests, he has 31 goals with 38 assists.

Penguins management is hopeful he can help spark the club’s bottom-six that has lacked a consistent scoring punch.

“I think he has good ability,” Sullivan said. “He skates well, and, regardless of where we fit him in the lineup or put him on a certain line, I think he’s going to bring an offensive dimension to help us.”

It goes without saying that any player joining a new club experiences a transitional period when it comes to getting to know teammates. Bemstrom should benefit from having four fellow Swedes in the locker room: Rakell, Erik Karlsson, Jesse Puljujarvi and Marcus Pettersson.

The one teammate Bemstrom did somewhat know upon arriving in Pittsburgh was Petterson. They represented Sweden during the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship held in Tampere and Helsinki.

That year, the host Swedes won it all, defeating Canada (and defenseman Ryan Graves) in the gold-medal game.

“I know him a little bit,” Pettersson said of Bemstrom. “I played one World Championship with him. A few years ago, it was the one in Finland. … We played against him a lot in Columbus. He’s a great young player. He’s got a really good shot.”

Although it wasn’t a blockbuster move, the fact that Dubas is — at least for now — adding pieces to the locker room as opposed to subtracting, isn’t lost to players who maintain a belief they can make a reach the postseason.

“It for sure sent a message that (Dubas is) trying to find something that clicks and trying to spark something,” Pettersson said. “…We’re going to play every game like we’re going to win. It sends us a message that we’ve got to push. We’re right there. We’ve got to push.”

Note: Per Sullivan, Guentzel will travel with the Penguins on their upcoming four-game road trip that begins Feb. 27 against Vancouver. From there, they play Seattle on Feb. 29, followed by Calgary on March 2 and Edmonton on March 3. Before that, Philadelphia visits PPG Paints Arena on Sunday afternoon. Guentzel, on long-term injured reserve, is ineligible to be activated until March 10. He briefly appeared on the ice Saturday before his teammates began practice, shooting a puck in street clothes before returning to the locker room.

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