On Wednesday, Swedish outlet Expressen reported Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect Filip Hallander is expected to sign a new contract with the team after this season.
Currently a member of Timra IK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Hallander — as well as his agent, Patrik Aronsson — declined comment to Expressen.
This season, the left-handed Hallander (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) has blossomed into a productive player. Entering Wednesday, the 24-year-old was the third-leading scorer in the SHL with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists).
Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas expressed optimism over Hallander’s growth via an email with TribLive.
“Timra has done an excellent job with Filip, and he has continued to make major strides developmentally the last two seasons,” Dubas wrote. “Though (bringing) Filip over to North America remains a great priority for the Penguins, our primary focus right now is continuing to try and support him and Timra to allow Filip to help Timra win a championship this season and continue being called for the Swedish National Team.
“Per the transfer agreement in place, we are not eligible to sign and register a contract for Filip until after Timra’s season concludes.”
While the exact specifics of Hallander’s deal with Timra IK are not public knowledge, contracts in Europe typically contain clauses that allow players to return to North America in order to play in the NHL.
A second-round pick (No. 58 overall) in 2018, Hallander spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins and appeared in three NHL contests. After his three-year entry-level contract expired following the 2022-23 season, he returned to his native Sweden, signing a five-year contract with Timra IK.
At the time, Hallander cited a lack of abundant playing time in the NHL as well as family concerns in explaining his decision to return to Sweden.
The Penguins retained his NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer to Hallander when he was a restricted free agent in the 2023 offseason. Those rights are scheduled to expire on June 29, 2027, according to Cap Wages.
Nedeljkovic nicked up
Alex Nedeljkovic liked what he saw in the mirror Wednesday morning.
“When I woke up, I said, ‘I look better than I did last night,’ ” Nedeljkovic quipped. “Everything’s all good. Just a little bad wound.”
The wound Nedeljkovic referenced was a welt under his right eye that came courtesy of an errant puck that struck the Pittsburgh Penguins’ backup goaltender while he was seated on the home bench during a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena.
At 12 minutes, 2 seconds of the first period, Avalanche defenseman Keaton Middleton flipped a puck from the neutral zone that sailed into the bench area, inadvertently striking Nedeljkovic.
A team staffer aided Nedeljkovic to the team’s medical facilities. He returned approximately three minutes into the second period with a handful of stitches under his eye and plenty of swelling.
“Their guy was going to dump the puck in front of the neutral zone,” Nedeljkovic said. “Coming down the board side, you’re always aware of pucks coming in like that. I usually just throw my glove up and lean back. It hit the glass then hit me. Just kind of caught the right angle.”
It wasn’t the first time Nedeljkovic has suffered some cosmetic damage during a game.
“A stick went through my cage a couple years ago when I was in Charlotte (of the American Hockey League) and caught me here (above the right eye). I got maybe two stitches to close it up. That was about it.”
St. Ivany back
Penguins rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany is back in town to rehabilitate an undisclosed injury he suffered while skating for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
Officially, he remains on the AHL roster after being assigned to that team Dec. 3.
