ANALYZING THE ALEXANDER NYLANDER/HENRI JOKIJARU TRADE A SEASON LATER
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| Alex Nylander celebrates his first goal as a Blackhawk. |
When the Blackhawks shipped Henri Jokijarju to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Alexander Nylander, there was lots of confusion. Jokijarju was primed to become a part of the Blackhawks' defense after spending part of the season before with the AHL's Rockford Icehogs, and Nylander hadn't been able to consistently produce at an NHL level with the Sabres. He had a total of 6 NHL points in 19 games. With the Rochester Americans, he put up 31 points in 49 AHL games. While it's still far too early to say which team was the winner of the trade, we can at least look at the season each player has had so far and use it as a measuring point.
First, let's discuss Jokijarju. The Blackhawks drafted him with their first-round pick in 2017 in Chicago, as the draft was held at the United Center that year. In 2018, the Blackhawks had two first-rounders and spent them on Adam Boqvist (8th overall) and Nicholas Beaudin (27th overall), both defensemen. Both of them have appeared in game action this year. With the addition of these players, and the talent that would soon be coming up (Ian Mitchell, Dennis Gilbert, Lucas Carlsson), the Blackhawks front office clearly felt that Jokijaru would become the odd man out and as a result became expendable. He's been able to chip in a bit offensively for the Sabres with 15 points, and has appeared in every game this year so far. Jokijaru has also averaged close to 17 minutes a game.
Next there's Nylander. During the beginning of the season, he started on a line playing with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and scored in his first game, against the Philadelphia Flyers. In the first five games, he had tallied four points in five games, but as the season progressed he found himself scratched multiple times. Head coach Jeremy Colliton said that he "had no problems" with Nylander's work ethic but added that he needs to round out his game and be able to make smarter plays. As the season remains on pause, Nylander currently has 26 points, with 10 goals and 16 assists, in 65 games played. At just 19, there's still obviously a lot of room to improve. His statline is similar to fellow teenager Kirby Dach, who has 8 goals and 15 assists for a total of 23 points, with 64 games played.
While Nylander hasn't had a huge breakout season, it hasn't gone badly for him and the team should be mostly happy with his development so far because it shows that he can be a scorer at the NHL level. He most likely won't ever live up to being drafted 8th overall (2016 by Buffalo) but could still be a productive forward. He should focus on being a more complete player and continue to learn to play within Colliton's system, which will in turn help him put the puck in the net more consistently. Working on the defensive side of the game will also be a big boost to his consistency and confidence. Jokijaru has also fit in well with the Sabres, but he hasn't been put in as big of a role as Nylander has. Nylander has seen lots of opportunity from the Blackhawks but didn't seem to be ready for it yet. However, the front office should exercise patience surrounding Nylander's use, similar to how Kirby Dach was eased into a bigger and bigger role as he developed throughout the year.
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| Consistency will be key for Nylander as he looks to prove the Blackhawks right to take a chance on him. |
As of now, I like the trade from the perspective of the Blackhawks. There's currently a log jam on the Blackhawks blueline, and the prospect pipeline at forward isn't nearly as strong as it is on defense. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook still are on long contracts, and Calvin de Haan will be leaned on as well after he recovers from his injury. This will be mixed with the influx of new talent such as Boqvist, Beaudin, and Mitchell. There aren't a ton of spots left on the defense corps, allowing the Blackhawks to let go of Jokijarju. Nylander looks like he's found some good off-ice chemistry with fellow rookies Dach and Boqvist, and lived with Robin Lehner before Lehner was traded to Vegas. His coaches and teammates seem to be happy with him, and he just needs some more time to develop. His flashes of talent this year prove that he is able to be a finisher, and once he finds consistency, he should be capable of playing a top-six role for the Blackhawks in the future.
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