Michael Nylander

Michael Nylander is a Swedish center on the Washington Capitals.

Nylander was drafted in 1991 by the Hartford Whalers. He played a season with AIK of the Swedish Elitserien League before joining the Whalers in 1992. In 1994, he was traded to the Calgary Flames, where he played for five seasons. He then did a brief tour with the Tampa Bay Lightning before being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks. He played three solid seasons with Chicago, emerging as a consistent 20-goal scorer and strong center. In 2002, he was traded to Washington, where he spent only a season and three games before being traded to Boston. He played with Karpat of the Finnish SM-liiga during the lockout, as well as a few games in the Russian Super League. He signed with the New York Rangers after the lockout, and put up the two best seasons of his career, with 79 and 83 points, earned by playing alongside superstar Jaromir Jagr. He signed with Washington in the 2007 offseason and has been a solid second line center for the Caps.

Nylander played for Sweden at a number of international events, earning gold medals at the 1992 and 2006 World Championships, as well as silver medals in 1993 and 1997. He won bronze at the 1999 and 2002 World Championships, as well as a silver medal at the 1992 World Junior Championships.