Penguins forward Alex Nylander wants to show 'I belong here on this team'

Not because of the player involved or the length of the contract or even the money.

No, the real curiosity with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ decision to re-sign forward Alex Nylander on April 29 involved the front office.

It was vacant. At least the biggest offices were.

The team re-signed Nylander roughly two weeks after general manager Ron Hextall was fired (April 14) and five weeks before Kyle Dubas was hired as president of hockey operations (June 1).

“Obviously, (a search for) management and all that kind of stuff happened,” Nylander said. “It was a little bit different but it went really well. Now, we’ve got new management, and they’ve all been really good to all of us. It’s been smooth even though I didn’t sign with the management that’s here now. I’m just excited for the season and to get it going.”

The list of players the franchise has ever signed without a general manager or president of hockey operations might be limited to Nylander, potentially making him the answer to a trivia question.

At the same time, he remains something of an enigma.

Is he the player who was worthy of being the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres? Or is he the player who has largely languished in obscurity in seven professional seasons thanks to injuries, stalled development and just rotten luck?

Nylander’s self-assessment of himself as he enters his eighth campaign is succinct.

“I’m just trying to obviously take a spot here on the team,” said Nylander, 25. “I know I’ve had a really good summer. I feel really confident on the ice. Just got to keep bringing it every day here and show them I belong here on this team.”

Nylander offered plenty of evidence to support that postulate Sunday. During a 3-2 shootout win in a preseason contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena, Nylander scored the opening goal of regulation and the first goal in the shootout.

The regulation goal wasn’t anything fancy. He just kind of went to the crease and cleaned up a rebound. But it came through a combined forechecking effort between himself and linemate Radim Zohorna that forced Blue Jackets defenseman Tim Berni to turn the puck over behind his own cage.

“We had a good forecheck going there,” Nylander said. “When I saw (Zohorna) got it, I was yelling at him that I was open on the backdoor. He gave it to me so it was just a tap-in. A nice pass by (Zohorna). And it was a good forecheck by us.”

His shootout goal was a showcase for his skill. Approaching the crease, he deked goaltender Aaron Dell out of position and tucked a slick forehand shot into the cage.

Offense has rarely been a problem for Nylander. The son of former NHL forward Michael Nylander and the brother of Toronto Maple Leafs star forward William Nylander, Alex Nylander was an All-Star at the American Hockey League level last season, posting 50 points (25 goals, 25 assists) in 55 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

“He’s a fun player to play with,” said Penguins forward Drew O’Connor who also began last season in Northeast Pennsylvania. “We had a long stretch together in that first part of the (2022-23) season. We were probably playing together pretty much every game down there, the first 20 games or whatever it was. … I have a good familiarity with his game. You see the offensive side of his game and how skilled he is. You see the shootout move. Obviously, he’s super skilled.

That success led to a recall on March 7.

And March 11.

And April 6.

And a bunch of other times.

In total, Nylander was subject to 12 different transactions between the NHL and AHL rosters in the final five weeks of the AHL season through a combination of injuries to the incumbents in the lineup and the club’s limited salary cap space.

Far from ideal, but Nylander was happy to simply be back in the NHL any time he was summoned.

“I just tried to do my best any time I got a chance up here and show them that I know that I can play here,” the right-hander said. “Obviously, there was a lot of up and down there, but it was fun every time I got a chance to play here. It was awesome. Now, I just want to do my best so I can stay here this season.”

Nylander certainly appears to be in the mix to claim a spot in the team’s remodeled group of bottom-six forwards. Capable of playing either wing, his versatility along with his offensive touch will give him a chance to earn a roster spot.

Refining his defensive game will increase those odds in his favor.

“His offense has always been there,” said assistant coach Mike Vellucci, who oversees the team’s forwards. “It’s the details of the rest of the game that he’s been working on. That’s where he’s shown the improvement. He’s always going to score because he’s so gifted and talented offensively. But he’s got to work on the rest of the game.

“The (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coaching staff) did a great job with him over the last year. Just getting him to finetune those details defensively — play without the puck, work ethic, tracking — all those that we measure here. He’s done a great job. He’s always going to get rewarded with the goals when he does those things.”

The only thing Nylander seems to be focused on is staying in the NHL.

“It’s new management,” Nylander said. “They probably haven’t seen me as much. Show them that I want to make plays but I can work both ends of the ice and win battles. That’s the kind of stuff I’m trying to show here.

“Just got to keep working on what I’ve been doing and working my (backside) off every game here.”