By Tony Abbott -
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
Guess who just got back this weekend? Gustav Nyquist, who was part of the Minnesota Wild's trade deadline machinations in the 2022-23 season. It's hard to argue that Nyquist wasn't worth the fifth-round pick the Wild surrendered for him back then, even if he only played nine games. Two goals and nine points is more production than Minnesota's gotten out of 14 of their 18 fifth-rounders from 2000 to 2020, and four of those points came in six playoff games.
You can't say that Minnesota doesn't need some offensive punch. Since Kirill Kaprizov went down with an injury before Christmas, the Wild are 28th in the NHL in goals per hour at 5-on-5 (2.01). It's also true that Minnesota doesn't have too much flexibility. It sent Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Öhgren to the AHL to accommodate Nyquist's $1.6 million cap hit after the Nashville Predators ate 50% of his salary.
The Wild operate with a higher degree of difficulty than 31 teams in the NHL, and trading their first-round pick for David Jiricek gives them less draft capital to offer other teams. That's all understandable. Nyquist was available, he could fit into the Wild's cap picture, and there was familiarity. It's not hard to see why the trade got made.
Still, the move registers as uninspiring, certainly in the greater context of the Wild's team-building.
We know that Bill Guerin is loyal to "his guys." If you have success in a Wild uniform and have a reputation as being good in the locker room, Guerin moves heaven and earth to keep you around. Sometimes, it works well -- look at Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello having strong seasons -- and sometimes, it doesn't, with Ryan Hartman on the suspended list.
It's not unusual for a GM to have a core of veteran players they want to keep around. What's more curious is that Guerin's loyalty seems to extend to a player even after they leave the organization.
Nyquist is now the second player that Guerin has traded for in two separate deals. The first was Marcus Johansson -- who Guerin acquired in the Eric Staal deal before the 2021 season, then again at the same 2022-23 trade deadline where he obtained Nyquist. Johansson flopped in his first go-round in Minnesota, with just six goals and 14 points in 36 games, while not being able to stick at center like the team had hoped.
Still, there was something Guerin and Dean Evason liked in Johansson, and they traded for him again. That move paid early dividends, with Johansson amassing six goals and 18 points in 20 games after the trade deadline, then chipping in two goals in his six playoff games.
After that, Guerin doubled down on his trade deadline find, inking him to a two-year, $4 million deal to solidify his top-nine during the worst of his salary cap woes. Since then, Johansson has logged only 16 goals and 49 points in 129 games, necessitating a trade for someone like Nyquist.
Johansson hasn't established a high bar to clear offensively this season. He's fourth among Wild forwards in 5-on-5 ice time, yet is tied with Yakov Trenin for ninth in goals (four) and eighth in points (13). It's not hard to think that someone -- heck, almost anyone -- could step into a top-nine role and be an instant improvement.
Sadly, there's been little indication that Nyquist is prepared to do that, at least this year. At 5-on-5, Nyquist lags behind Johansson in almost every relevant stat.
5-on-5 Offense, 2024-25
Johansson: 0.33 Goals/60; 1.08 Points/60; 5.65 Shots/60
Nyquist: 0.24 Goals/60; 0.87 Points/60; 3.33 Shots/60
You can't blame Nyquist's role in Nashville, either. He wasn't buried on the depth chart; he was playing alongside the Predators' biggest stars. His top three forward partners are Ryan O'Reilly (60.8% of his 5-on-5 ice time), Filip Forsberg (34.5%), and Steven Stamkos (17.7%). Heck, you can argue that Nyquist had better assignments than Johansson! MoJo/JoJo has skated with Ryan Hartman for 40.1% of his 5-on-5 minutes, 36.9% with Joel Eriksson Ek, and 36.5% with Matt Boldy.
Again, Nyquist was cheap and available, that's understandable. The Wild can have the flexibility to acquire someone else if they don't foresee Eriksson Ek and/or Kaprizov returning before the playoffs. Still, why spend any draft capital getting someone who is 35 years old and isn't much of an upgrade, if any, over what's already in-house?
How can you look at Guerin's history and conclude anything else but that Nyquist has been here before? There's nothing wrong with recycling someone in itself. If a player was a good fit before and is still productive, then sure, go for it.
The problem is that neither of the players Guerin recycled fit that criterion. Johansson wasn't productive in his first stint in Minnesota, and falling for a short-term production boost was unquestionably a mistake. Meanwhile, Nyquist's production seems to be bottoming out at 35, an age at which forwards can expect steep declines.
It shows much less imagination than the Wild have been capable of this season. Trading a first-round pick to land a top, post-hype prospect like Jiricek was a strong, creative move with long-term upside. What's the upside in Nyquist?
It's repeating the short-term production boost the Wild got back in those nine games during the 2022-23 season. It's not nothing, but also... did we forget the fate of the 2022-23 team? Their season ended in the first round, with Minnesota blowing a 1-0 series lead to lose in six games to the Dallas Stars.
Pick whatever trade deadline acquisition you want to throw out in your wildest dreams -- Mikko Rantanen isn't going to guarantee Minnesota a playoff series win, especially not with their limitations. The goal is reasonable: Give the team a puncher's chance at breaking a playoff series drought threatening to reach the decade mark.
Still, unless Nyquist's arrival precedes something that moves the needle more, it's hard to get excited about re-creating a team that no one was surprised to see flame out in the first round.
Think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we'll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form.
-
1
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.