San Jose Sharks Exchange Draft Picks for Gustav Nyquist
The San Jose Sharks made a move to bolster their forward group by trading draft picks to the Detroit Red Wings for skater Gustav Nyquist.
General Manager Doug Wilson is always looking to make a splash at the NHL trade deadline and this year was no different for the San Jose Sharks. Late Sunday the trade was made for Gustav Nyquist in exchange for a 2019 2nd round pick and a 2020 conditional 3rd.
If Gustav Nyquist resigns with the San Jose Sharks or they reach the Stanley Cup final this year with him in their line up the 2020 3rd rounder turns into a 2nd. Nyquist had a full no trade clause but waived it to help facilitate this move to the Bay Area. This just goes to show how serious of a threat people believe the Sharks are this year.
Nyquist is an excellent addition to the San Jose Sharks who still have many questions about their bottom six forward group. He can play both sides of the ice and has the scoring ability to slot anywhere in this line up.
This trade makes the Sharks the only team in the league with 6 skaters with more than 15 goals. Gustav Nyquist’s 16 goals and 49 points overall puts him on his second highest point per game pace of his 8 year career. However he has never been on a roster as talented as the San Jose Sharks current group, so expect him to eclipse his career high marks with 20 games remaining in the regular season.
The Swede is a bulk shooter. Nyquist had the highest shots on goal totals this season for the Red Wings through 62 games played (163). The 29-year-old will gel nicely on Team Teal who is second in the league in shot generation, per naturalstattrick.
It’s not hard to imagine him being the trigger man on Joe Thornton’s left side. Slotting him there will not only give the San Jose Sharks another consistently dangerous forward line but strengthen their fourth line with the inevitable “demotion” of Marcus Sorensen.
Regardless of where he gets placed in the line up the underlying numbers show that Nyquist will be a difference maker on Team Teal. Prior to being traded Nyquist had the 2nd highest Goal Above Replacement (8.7) and Wins Above Replacement (1.5) for the Red Wings according to Evolving-Hockey. These stats illustrate that Nyquist is playing beyond what is expected of him on a lackluster Detroit Red Wings team in the middle of a rebuild.
The fact that Detroit is rebuilding allowed them to retain nearly thirty percent of his remaining salary according to Pierre LeBrun.
Also believe the Red Wings will be retaining around 30 percent of Nyquist’s salary in the trade to San Jose
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 25, 2019
This gives Doug Wilson an opportunity to perhaps make another move before the trade deadline strikes. However Wilson has done plenty this season to help bolster the San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup odds.
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The transition to his new team will be an easy process considering the last game of his Red Wings career (for now) was against his new team. So he should have a good idea of what to expect from his new teammates Unless something else happens between now and then, Nyquist will be in a teal sweater against the Boston Bruins.