Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman John Nyberg signs with Swedish team
Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman John Nyberg has signed with Byrnas IF of the Swedish Hockey League.
With injuries impacting the blue lines of NHL and AHL rosters, the Penguins acquired Nyberg in a trade with the Dallas Stars on Jan. 17 in exchange for forward prospect Oula Palve.
In 16 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Swedish-born Nyberg recorded four assists. Before the AHL halted play in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Nyberg had been deployed on the left side of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s second defensive pairing with veteran Zach Trotman.
A sixth-round pick (No. 165 overall) of the Stars in 2014, Nyberg, 23, is a pending restricted free agent as far as his NHL rights are concerned.
His departure will reduce the number of players the Penguins have under NHL contract to 53 (including those signed through the completion of the 2019-20 season or signed to begin next season). Teams are limited to 50 contracts for any one particular season.
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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