On the Block: Gustav Nyquist

Then, the Red Wings‘ aging core began to slow down. Zetterberg was dealing with back problems, Kronwall’s knee started to bother him, and Datsyuk left for the KHL. The moment was here for the torch to be passed. To say that Nyquist didn’t take it is a little unfair. He and Tomas Tatar have been strong offensive forces for the Red Wings both last season and this one. So why do their names keep coming up on the trading blocks? Should Ken Holland seriously consider moving two of his better assets? Let’s dig in.

Nyquist is an incredibly talented offensive player who should be able to reap quite the return for the Red Wings if they decide to trade him. When put into the right situations, he produces like a first line player in the NHL. There has been some critique lately of his lack of contribution on a team that so desperately needs scoring, but this is mostly due to the failing powerplay that’s been ailing the Wings over the last two seasons. Nyquist’s P/60 this year is the third highest of his career.

In addition to this, Nyquist is on a pretty modest contract with an AAV of $4.75M until 2019-20. Shedding his contract would really help with the cap hell the Red Wings will be living in for the next few years and also give them one less player they’ll have to expose in the expansion draft this June. This team has a history of losing players for nothing. It would be nice for them to actually get a decent return for an asset one of these days.

The problem with Nyquist being an effective offensive player is that the Red Wings need effective offensive players. He’s currently second best on the team in points and has the fifth best P/60 this season. If you remove his offense, you’re taking away two game winning goals from this team. Can Detroit afford to trade a player of Nyquist’s calibre if they want to stay competitive and push for the playoffs?

Further to this, if the Wings traded Nyquist, do they have somebody who can replace him? Sure, it would allow for Athanasiou/Mantha/Larkin to get more ice time, but it also forces a call-up from Grand Rapids. There is currently nobody with the Griffins that will be called up who has top-6 potential. Tyler Bertuzzi, Thomas Nosek, and Mitch Callahan are all possible call-ups, but they are bottom-6 grinders at best. The Red Wings already have too many bottom-6 players. They don’t need to be replacing a top-6 player with a bottom-6 player right now.

There should be a lot of teams interested in a guy like Nyquist. He’s got great scoring potential and, if surrounded by the right kind of players, will really excel. It’s already been reported that the Blackhawks have sniffed around on Nyquist, though I’m not sure their salary cap can handle another $4M contract, considering they have some extensions to hand out in the next couple of years.  

The Dallas Stars are another intriguing destination for Nyquist, as they’ve definitely needed scoring support and have the availability on the wing for him to slot into. Their playoff hopes are quickly fading away, so this could be a last ditch effort that really brings them back from the brink of elimination.

Both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers are currently holding down Wild Card spots and might be interested in another top-6 winger to really cement them as contenders in this year’s playoffs. A guy like Nyquist would add another dimension to their offensive unit. Imagine the damage he could do with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek? The Flyers would really be scary.

As for a return, the Wings should be asking for a high end, NHL-ready prospect and draft picks. Maybe something like a 2nd rounder in 2017 and a 1st rounder in 2018. If Ken Holland does decide to move Nyquist, it pretty much means that he is conceding the season and buying into a rebuild. Might as well go for future considerations with a high upside rather than a current roster player that a playoff-bound team is willing to give up.

With the Red Wings history of loyalty, it’s hard to imagine Holland moving Nyquist, a Red Wings draft pick who came up through the Red Wings system and earned his spot with the big club. Anything can happen, though, and if the Red Wings season is cemented as a failure, they should be looking at all of their options to set themselves up for success next season and beyond.