However you view Alex Nylander — a promising talent with a high ceiling, a maddeningly inconsistent underachiever, a poor return for Henri Jokiharju — doesn’t really matter. What matters is how Jeremy Colliton, Stan Bowman and the Blackhawks view him. And in Nylander they saw a potentially productive top-six winger with high-end talent and a significant piece of the young Next Core being built in Chicago.
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So the torn meniscus in Nylander’s left knee that was suffered during the summer playoffs and was surgically repaired Monday was a major blow to the Blackhawks’ present and future. The injury will keep him out for four to six months — very possibly the entire season.
The 22-year-old Nylander was likely to be slotted alongside Kirby Dach and Patrick Kane. So not only do the Blackhawks lose a precious year of development for one of their prized young players, but they also lose an everyday winger who, despite his occasional disappearing acts, had 10 goals and 16 assists in 65 games last season, his first full NHL season after three brief stints in Buffalo. With Brandon Saad traded to Colorado, the Blackhawks are now without arguably their top two left wings from a year ago.
Nylander was sixth among Blackhawks forwards with 1.96 points per 60 in 5-on-5 minutes. He was also third among the forwards for being on the ice for the fewest high-danger chances against per 60. The analytics point to a player with some potential.
“I think he’s got all the talent in the world,” Kane said of Nylander during summer camp in July. “Great skater, he’s got all the puck skills, got a good shot. I think sometimes you look at a guy like that, he hasn’t played that much as far as minutes and a top role consistently. When he was in the spot before the break, we were developing chemistry, our line was coming on, we had a few good games on the road. But he can do a lot of good things with the puck. He can create space, can hold onto it. As camp goes on here we start scrimmaging more, we’ll talk more about certain details we want to do when we’re on the ice together, how we want to play to be effective in the playoffs. But leaving him alone right now because he looks great, he’s skating well, his puck control is really good, creating a lot in any battle drill so far.”
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Next man up?
Of course, in the zero-sum world of sports, every injury is an opportunity for someone else. And few opportunities are more enticing than playing alongside Kane. Maybe Alex DeBrincat gets a look there, though he’s at his best with third-line center Dylan Strome and has spent far more time on Jonathan Toews’ line than Kane’s. Perhaps Mattias Janmark gets a chance in that spot, bringing some two-way support to Dach.
Or maybe someone who had been headed for the taxi squad like Brandon Pirri — who actually centered Kane for a bit during the 2013-14 season — could get a chance for a big role. Pirri’s relatively one-dimensional, but he does score goals, something the Blackhawks suddenly need.
More likely, given the Blackhawks’ desire to give young players opportunities to develop and prove they should be a part of the future, Nylander’s injury opens up a spot for someone such as Swiss import Pius Suter, or IceHogs standouts Brandon Hagel and Philipp Kurashev. All three of them will enter camp with a head start, having played in Switzerland while the NHL figured out its restart plan.
Contract concern
Nylander is in the last year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent after the season. He was likely due for a decent pay bump given his role, but now the Blackhawks will be able to kick that can down the road another year, at least. Dach and Adam Boqvist will be due for significant raises in the summer of 2022.
Protection
Nylander seemed to be a lock to protect in the July expansion draft, but the injury makes him obviously less attractive to the Seattle Kraken, and could theoretically provide the Blackhawks some flexibility in whom they choose to protect (and whether they choose to protect seven forwards and three defensemen or eight skaters total, the latter of which would allow them to protect Connor Murphy). It still seems like a safe bet that the Blackhawks would protect Nylander — he’s a cheap 22-year-old with a world of talent — but it does open the door for other possibilities.
(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)