Sharks winger Gustav Nyquist was believed to be seeking an extension worth roughly $5MM per year prior to his trade just before the deadline, reports Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News. That’s pretty much on par with the AAV on his existing deal which checked in at $4.75MM. After a bit of a down season in 2017-18, the 29-year-old responded with a career year offensively with 60 points between San Jose and Detroit. Given that he’ll be one of the better wingers available on the open market, there’s a good chance that he’ll eclipse that reported asking price, one that likely factored in a bit of a discount if he was going to remain with the Red Wings.
More from the Pacific:
- At the age of 37, Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland has no plans on retiring just yet. In an interview with ESPN Radio 1100 (audio link), the blueliner stated that he’s hopeful of playing for at least a couple more seasons but acknowledged he’ll probably go year-to-year on his contracts moving forward. Engelland has averaged a little over 20 minutes a game over his two seasons with Vegas while bringing some grit to their back end as well. He indicated that his preference is to remain with them for 2019-20 but given their salary cap issues, he may have to take a cut on the $1.5MM he made this past season.
- While the Oilers have still yet to officially name their new bench boss, it appears changes are coming to their group of assistants. Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins reports that assistant coach Trent Yawney is expected to join the Kings where Edmonton’s former head coach Todd McLellan has taken over. He adds that assistants Glen Gulutzan and Manny Viveiros aren’t likely to be back in their current roles while Jim Playfair and Mark Lamb could be candidates to take over for those two. Dave Tippett is widely expected to be named head coach but the move has not been made official just yet.