The Penguins on Wednesday traded forward Sam Lafferty to the Blackhawks in exchange for forward Alex Nylander.
Nylander, 23, is a right-handed shot who can play both wing and center. He's 6-foot-1, 192 pounds.
Nylander is on a one-year contract that carries a cap hit of $874,125. He'll be a restricted free agent when it expires this summer. He remains exempt from waivers this season, so he's able to freely move between the NHL and AHL without any limitations.
He will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to start.
Nylander was the Sabres' first-round pick in 2016, drafted eighth overall. The Sabres traded Nylander to the Blackhawks in 2019, and he's spent this season and the previous two in the Blackhawks' organization.
Nylander has spent this season on the Blackhawks' taxi squad as well as in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs, where he ranks No. 2 in scoring with eight goals and four assists in 23 games.
Nylander missed the entire 2020-21 season due to knee surgery. He spent all of the 2019-20 season in the NHL with Chicago, ranking No. 8 in scoring with 10 goals and 16 assists in 65 games. He has a total of 84 games of NHL experience, including 19 games over his three seasons in the Sabres' organization.
Nylander's father Michael played 920 NHL games over 15 seasons with the Whalers, Flames, Lightning, Capitals, Blackhawks, Bruins, and Rangers. Nylander's older brother William is in his seventh NHL season with the Maple Leafs.
Lafferty, 26, was the Penguins' fourth-round pick in 2014. The Hollidaysburg, Pa. native played 94 NHL games over the last three seasons, scoring six goals and 15 assists.
As the Penguins continue to get healthier, Lafferty was looking to be a victim of the numbers. He played on the right wing of the fourth line in Sunday's game against the Sharks, and skated on a fifth line in practice on Tuesday after Teddy Blueger, Brian Boyle and Kasperi Kapanen returned to the group. With Jeff Carter and Evgeni Malkin both nearing returns, it was looking less and less likely that Lafferty would find his way back into the Penguins' lineup this season, becoming a candidate to be waived then assigned to the taxi squad or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
In Nylander, the Penguins get a younger, waivers-exempt former first-round pick as an option at forward instead.
