Penguins re-sign former first-round pick

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.