Penguins acquire Alex Nylander from Blackhawks for Sam Lafferty
With superstar forward Evgeni Malkin on the verge of returning to the lineup, the Penguins made a trade Wednesday to clear room on their roster and payroll.
Reserve forward Sam Lafferty was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for minor league forward Alex Nylander.
The 23-year-old Nylander has split the 2021-22 season between the Blackhawks’ taxi squad and the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 23 AHL games, he has 12 points (eight goals, four assists).
Nylander (6-foot-1, 192 pounds) is signed to a one-year contract worth $874,125 and is a pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason. Additionally, he is exempt from waivers with regards to any transactions between the NHL and AHL rosters.
The eighth overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Buffalo Sabres, Nylander has largely struggled to establish himself in the NHL. Between the Sabres and Blackhawks, he has compiled only 84 career NHL games and 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists).
His last NHL action came during the 2019-20 season when he appeared in 65 games and recorded 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) for the Blackhawks. Nylander missed the entire 2020-21 season due to a left knee injury that required surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
A Swedish national who was born in Calgary, Alberta, Nylander comes from a prominent hockey family. His brother, William, is a star forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their father, Michael, enjoyed a 15-year career throughout the 1990s and 2000s with the Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.
Lafferty, 26, leaves the Penguins after being a member of the franchise in some fashion since 2014.
A fourth-round pick (No. 113 overall) in 2014, Lafferty has spent parts of the past three seasons on the NHL roster. In 94 career games, Lafferty had 21 points (six goals, 15 assists).
This season, Lafferty had appeared in only 10 of a possible 31 games — he was a healthy scratch for the other 21 — and recorded two assists.
In the final year of a contract with a salary cap hit of the league minimum $750,000, Lafferty is a pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
Lafferty (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) would need to clear waivers for any potential roster maneuvers between the NHL and AHL rosters.
A native of Hollidaysburg, Lafferty is a member of a select fraternity of Western Pennsylvanians who have played for the Penguins. In addition to Lafferty, forward Ryan Malone and Dylan Reese, each of Upper St. Clair, as well as defenseman Nate Guenin of Hopewell and forward Bill Thomas of Fox Chapel have suited up for the club.
With Malkin in the final stages of recovering from offseason surgery to his right knee, he is expected to resume playing in the near future, perhaps as soon as next week. As a result, the Penguins needed to clear a spot on the roster and some salary cap space as he is currently on long-term injured reserve, a designation that temporarily relieves the Penguins of a portion of his $9.5 million salary cap hit.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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