Emil Bemstrom was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday for forward Alexander Nylander and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Bemstrom has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 32 games this season. Selected by Columbus in the fourth round (No. 117) of the 2017 NHL Draft, the 24-year-old forward has 69 points (31 goals, 38 assists) in 204 regular-season games and no points in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"What I do know is that he's a talented player,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He's scored 10-plus goals in the League a couple years when he was in Columbus (once, as a rookie in 2019-20). Beyond that, I don't have a real good grasp of his overall game. I know (GM) Kyle (Dubas) and the hockey ops guys do, and they think he's a guy that can help us."
Nylander has spent the majority of this season in the American Hockey League, getting 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 43 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He has also played five NHL games (no points).
Selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 8 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, the 25-year-old has 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 98 regular-season games for the Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks and Penguins, and no points in eight playoff games.
Pittsburgh (25-21-8) is seven points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Columbus (18-27-10) is in last place in the East.
