With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
Filip Hallander
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Age: 21
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 190 pounds
2020-21 SHL statistics: 51 games, 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists)
Contract: First year of a three-year salary cap hit of $778,333. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2023
(Note: According to Cap Friendly, Hallander’s contract includes a European assignment clause. This allows Hallander, if he chooses, to play in Europe if the Penguins assign him to a minor league affiliate.)
Acquired: Trade, July 17, 2021
2020-21 season: Given how often the Penguins have dealt away high-end future assets, Hallander was, almost by default, one of the organization’s top prospects until August 2020.
Then he became a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect.
The Penguins swung a multi-player deal to reacquire top-six winger Kasperi Kapanen, another one-time Penguins prospect on Aug. 25. The bundle of assets the Penguins sent to Toronto included Hallander, a second-round pick (No. 58 overall) in 2018.
While most leagues in North America were on hiatus last fall due to the pandemic, a number of European leagues opted to forge ahead and played on through, including the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top-tier league in Hallander’s home country.
That led to the Maple Leafs loaning him to Lulea HF, the team he had played for during the 2019-20 campaign, though he missed much of that season due to a broken leg.
Deployed on the left wing of the first line for most of the season, Hallander was Lulea’s eighth-leading scorer. His three game-winning goals led the team.
Third on the team in shots with 126, he claimed a role on the power play with four scores.
Helping Lulea to a fifth-place finish in a 14-team league, Hallander collected three points (two goals, one assist) in seven postseason games as Lulea fell to Skelleftea AIK.
After the SHL’s season was concluded, Hallander was selected for Sweden’s roster for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Championship tournament. In five games, he recorded one assist.
On July 17, the Penguins reacquired Hallander from the Maple Leafs in a deal that sent veteran forward Jared McCann to Toronto.
The future: Hallander automatically becomes one of the organizations’ top prospects — again — by virtue of there being few candidates for that designation.
Drafted as a center, Hallander has predominantly played the wing at the professional level. A nuisance around the cage, he does a lot of his damage offensively near the crease. While his skating could use some work, he offers a defensively conscious game.
Last week, general manager Ron Hextall expressed hope for Hallander to challenge for a spot on the NHL roster in training camp. That might be a bit optimistic considering Hallander has never played a minute in North America on a smaller ice surface. So some refinement in the American Hockey League with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton might be in order.
Regardless, his return provides a much-needed boost to the Penguins’ shallow prospect pool.
