Three quick thoughts on the newest Pittsburgh Penguin
The Pittsburgh Penguins made a trade in the middle of their 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, acquiring forward Emil Bemstrom from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Alex Nylander and a conditional 2026 draft pick. It’s not a blockbuster move by any means, but it is a move and it does finally add something to the roster. It’s also an interesting move for a couple of reasons.
Let’s talk about it,
That was a big talking point in Kyle Dubas’ press conference on Wednesday, and at 24 Bemstrom immediately becomes one of the youngest players on the roster. So ... there is that.
Bemstrom is signed through the end of this season and is a restricted free agent.
I feel like the next 28 games are going to be a big audition period for him and there is probably no guarantee he gets tendered a qualifying offer. So while he is younger, he is not exactly “prospect” younger and is not yet a part of the long-term outlook.
It basically seems like a team that needs some additional forward depth taking a chance and seeing what happens.
Dubas definitely has a type for his bottom-six roles, and Bemstrom fits it as a defensive-minded, two-way player with limited finishing skills.
The thing that stands out about Bemstrom is that he has been a dominant goal-scorer in the American Hockey League, scoring 26 goals in 33 game over the past three seasons, including a whopping 10 in eight games this season.
But it has not translated over to the NHL, where he has just 31 goals in 204 career games, including five in 32 games this season.
That doesn’t mean he isn’t an upgrade to some of the options the Penguins are currently using in their bottom-six or have used in their bottom-six this season. For example: He has as many goals in 32 games (five) as Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jansen Harkins have combined for in 114 man-games between them.
Also worth mentioning: His .156 goals per game average would be seventh-best on the Penguins roster this season, sandwiched between Lars Eller and Drew O’Connor.
I am not sure who this says more about — Bemstrom’s ability or the lack of scoring and finishing from the bottom half of the Penguins roster.
Trading away Nylander is a giant nothing-burger as far as I am concerned, because he just didn’t seem to have a play here short-term or long-term. I’m not really worried about him coming back to haunt the Penguins.
But the draft pick is an interesting piece, especially with the attached condition.
It’s a 2026 sixth-round pick, but could move up to a third-round pick if Bemstrom scored six goals the rest of the season.
That is a little more significant. And it is a fascinating condition to be attached to the trade because it came just a little more than 24 hours after Dubas said he was not going to be trading futures.
I am not saying this is a bad move. I am just saying it is interesting. Because a potential third-round pick in 2026 — when there is a at least a non-zero chance that the Penguins are not very good and potentially picking very high in the draft — could be a somewhat decent pick.
And I do not think it is out of the question for Bemstrom to score six goals in 28 games.
He already has five in 32 games. It is not that big of a jump from that to six in 28.
Even if that does happen, the third-round pick is only a 50-50 bet to even make an NHL debut. There is a good chance the player taken with that pick never scores six goals in the NHL at any point, and it is entirely possible Bemstrom provides more NHL value this season than that pick ever does (especially so if it remains as a sixth-round pick).
But, it is still a future pick, and a potentially valuable pick.
I do not expect Bemstrom to make a huge difference, but he is a small upgrade over some of their other options in the bottom-six and I am willing to roll the dice on somebody like him that might have some upside offensively as opposed to, say, Jansen Harkins or Jeff Carter. Just as long as the coaching staff gives him the opportunity and something of a leash to get that opportunity.
