The Nashville Predators offseason moves were mostly about bringing in some cagey veterans, and Gustav Nyquist very much fits that bill.
The forward was brought in on a two-year $6.37 million dollar deal ($3.185 million dollars per year) to help add to the offense and play a bit of a mentorship role.
2022-2023 Nyquist Season Review
This wasn’t the greatest season for Nyquist, but to be fair, he played for two teams in Minnesota (who was meh offensively) and Columbus (who was terrible offensively) and only got 51 games in total.
Typically Nyquist manages to play 70+ games and pot 40 or more points with relative ease. He’s done it 9 times in his 11 year career so far and has been productive without taking himself off the ice. He has more goals than penalty minutes (125 to 124) which is a pretty remarkable number over his length of a career.
Nyquist also produced 428 points over that 703 game span. Last year was likely a blip of the radar and with his top-6 lineup placement and the plethora of talent we assume the Predators will have, Nyquist should be ready to feast and get plenty of opportunity to put up numbers.
2023-2024 Nashville Predators Season Preview
There is some flexibility with bringing in a forward like Nyquist. First and foremost, there is a solid chance he provides exactly what Barry Trotz believes he can. Effectively recovered from injury by the end of last season, his six playoff games with the Wild produced five points. A healthy Nyquist will put up numbers and likely fly under the radar doing it.
If Nyquist isn’t performing up to snuff, or the Predators can’t manage to put together a playoff contending team, then he’s trade bait. The Predators have been stocking draft picks as of late, and dangling a player like Nyquist to a contending team needing just a bit more offense is an easy to grab a few more of them.
Unless Nyquist falls off a cliff offensively and becomes hard to deal out to another team, this was a plus move from Barry Trotz and the front office, and should result in a positive outcome for the Predators regardless of whether or not he finishes his contract with the team.
The only thing Nyquist needs during training camp is a consistent line to grow his chemistry. Coming out of the gates hot will be a huge boost not only for Nyquist but also the Nashville Predators.
Nyquist will probably be a shoe-in for a second line role with the Nashville Predators and be leaned on to lead the younger players, as well as providing some added scoring.
Biggest Strength for Nyquist: Veteran Experience & Depth Scoring
Biggest Weakness for Nyquist: Age, Past his Prime
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