Nylander was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 23rd, 2024, in exchange for Emil Bemström.

David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Before being traded to Columbus, Alex Nylander’s career was pretty much dead in the water. From 2020 until 2024, he had only played in 14 NHL games and had a grand total of two points. Things weren’t going well for the young forward. Seeing his brother flourish for the Toronto Maple Leafs has to be tough.

After Jarmo Kekäläinen was fired last February, John Davidson made a trade almost immediately. He sent a struggling Emil Bemström to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Alex Nylander, who wasn’t struggling per se, but he couldn’t get a foothold in the NHL. Nylander has scored 56 goals in the AHL since 2021, there’s something in there.

Nylander finally had a shot at playing and made the most of it. In his third game with Columbus, he had a goal and an assist. In his fifth game against the Cup champ Vegas Golden Knights, he scored his first hat trick at Nationwide Arena. In his seventh game, he scored again. In his 10th and 11th games, he had 3 goals and 4 points.

After that stretch, he hit a little cold spell, not scoring again for six games. But then on April 1st, he put a pair of goals in the net against the Colorado Avalanche. He then went on another 5-game goalless drought before ending it in the last regular season game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He would finish the year with 11 goals and 15 points in 23 games with the Jackets. It’s safe to say that NO ONE had him penciled in for 4 assists, let alone 11 goals. But the former #8 overall pick in 2016 comes from good stock, so many said he just had to be put in the right situation. Is Columbus the right situation?

The 26-year-old Nylander is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st and will be arbitration-eligible. Immediately after the season, many fans and media were wondering if he would be signed by the CBJ. The answer should be ABSOLUTELY YES.

Nylander started at the bottom of the lineup and through his play, worked his way up to the top line opposite Johnny Gaudreau. From the day Nylander made his CBJ debut, Gaudreau had 20 points in those 23 games. Nylander also played a bunch of games with Cole Sillinger at the start, and those two did very well together. In the first four games Nylander played with Sillinger on a line, Cole had points in four straight games. Once Nylander started moving around the lineup, Sillinger went on a long pointless streak.

Alex Nylander has a nasty shot, and seems like he makes guys around him play better. Either that, or they just mesh so well together that the play comes naturally. His teammates seem to really like him too.

Many on social media have said that they should move on from him. The Jackets have 11 restricted free agents, and with some of them, it’s critical they get signed. But there should be enough money left over to get Nylander a nice bridge deal to see if he can “do it again.”

Nylander is still young at 26, and there’s plenty of time for him to blossom into a nice player, he just needs a chance. That chance should come in Columbus, and new GM Don Waddell would be wise to give him one.