Minnesota Wild Trade for Semi-Familiar Face

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Gustav Nyquist - Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators
Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Wild took another L on Friday night, this time at the hands of division rival, Colorado, who has now supplanted them as one of the three Central teams who are guaranteed a spot in the 2025 NHL Playoffs.

It was the Wild’s third-straight loss. Their only win, since the 4 Nations Face-Off, came on the first game back after the break — a 4-3 comeback victory over the Detroit Red Wings that required a miraculous comeback from down 3-0 deep into the third period.

In other words, win or lose, this team has been skating uphill since the 4 Nations break ended. Coincidentally, that’s the same time news broke that Kaprizov is in danger of missing the rest of the season with a surgically repaired lower body injury he has been dealing with since Christmas.

Gustav Nyquist - Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators
Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

That’s why it’s difficult to be all that frustrated by this skid. Winning was difficult back in November/December, when key players were cycling in and out of the lineup AROUND superstar Kirill Kaprizov. Even with the likes of Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Brock Faber and Eriksson Ek (the first time around) Kaprizov’s MVP-caliber play lifted everyone around him.

Minnesota Wild re-upping for 2nd Rental of Gustav Nyquist…?

Then last week, top center Joel Eriksson Ek suffered an injury during practice, forcing the Wild to place him on IR right next to Kaprizov. As of Saturday, we still do not know whether either player will return in time for the NHL Playoffs.

While they wait on more Kaprizov/Ek updates, Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin has been out snooping around the trade market, prior to the NHL trade deadline on March 7. And on Saturday afternoon, a few hours after Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic) originally reported the deal was close, a trade for 35-year-old Swedish winger Gustav Nyquist was made official.

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Nyquist had his first cup-of-coffee in Minnesota as a trade rental back in 2022-23. Back then, he was acquired while recovering from an injury, which kept him out until the very end of the regular season.

Because of that injury, the University of Maine alum played only nine total games in a Wild sweater (three regular season + six playoff games) his first time in Minnesota. But even fresh off an injury that caused Nyquist to miss nearly half of that 2022-23 season, the 13-year NHL veteran played incredibly well once he got on the ice.

In those nine games, Gustav Nyquist posted 10 total points (1 goal, 9 assists), including a team-leading five assists during Minnesota’s Wildcard playoff series loss vs the Dallas Stars.

Gustav Nyquist + MN Wild – Part II

This time around, the University of Maine alum — who has 9 goals and 21 total points (17:39 TOI), in 57 games with Nashville this season — is again due for unrestricted free agency in the offseason, meaning this could be another short-term stint with the Wild. That doesn’t scare either side, however, probably since

Originally, there was some red tape holding up this deal from being finalized, and it was probably money. Because when the deal finally became official, the Preds retained half of Nyquist’s salary for the rest of this season.

As of late Saturday morning, league sources told The Athletic that multiple teams were still pursuing Nyquist. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported there was a complication holding up a deal with the Wild.

Michael Russo and Joe Smith – The Athletic

Gustav Nyquist was originally selected by the Detroit Red Wings, in the 4th round (No. 121 overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. The rest, as you would say, is history. 841 games later, Nyquist has racked up 207 NHL goals and 317 assists (524 points).

Even late into his career, Nyquist will immediately help the Minnesota Wild on special teams, where they have struggled all season long. Expect him to be featured on the penalty kill, for sure, and likely on the power play too.

Minnesota Wild waiting for injury timelines of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek

Whether or not Eriksson Ek and/or Kirill Kaprizov plan to return this season will make the difference for Bill Guerin & Co at the NHL trade deadline. If they are able to return in time for the postseason, the Wild will be mostly quiet for the next week.

Related: Wild Recall Former First Round Forward

But if either/both end up on Long Term Injured Reserve, the Minnesota Wild will could receive as much as $15 million in additional cap space ($10M for Kaprizov, $5M for Eriksson Ek) that they can use to acquire talent before the NHL trade deadline on March 7.

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