The Pittsburgh Penguins have brought back former second-round pick Filip Hallander, who was traded twice by the Penguins, and spent the last two seasons playing in his native Sweden. The Pens signed the 24-year old forward to a two-year deal worth $775,000 annually. This past season, he had 26 goals and 53 points in 51 games, finishing second overall in the Swedish Hockey League.
Jim Rutherford was the Penguins general manager when the team drafted Hallander in 2018. Two years later, Rutherford sent Hallander to Toronto as part of the Kasperi Kapanen trade. Current Penguins president Kyle Dubas was Toronto’s general manager at the time. But Hallander never played for the Toronto organization. A year later, Penguins GM Ron Hextall re-acquired Hallander when the Pens shipped Jared McCann to Seattle prior to their expansion draft. Hallander then returned to Europe.