After being scratched earlier in the day for trade-related reasons, it felt like only a matter of time before the Predators traded winger Gustav Nyquist. That move has now happened as they have dealt him to the Wild in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Both sides have announced the swap. As part of the move, Nashville is retaining half of his $3.185MM cap hit. To make room on the roster, Minnesota has assigned Liam Ohgren to AHL Iowa, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).
It’s the second time that Minnesota has acquired Nyquist in a move before the trade deadline after they picked him up from Columbus back in 2023 but at that time, the acquisition cost was only a fifth-round selection. Meanwhile, it’s actually the third time that the 35-year-old has been a near-deadline pickup as back in 2019, Detroit moved him to San Jose for a pair of draft choices.
Nyquist signed a two-year deal with the Preds back in 2023 on the heels of a solid playoff showing with Minnesota that saw him pick up five assists in six postseason appearances. Things couldn’t have gone much better for him last season as he wound up blowing past his previous career highs in assists and points, tallying 52 and 75 respectively in 81 games. He followed that up with four points in their first-round exit to Vancouver in the playoffs.
With his 2023-24 performance and Nashville’s big spending spree over the summer, expectations were high for Nyquist heading into this season. However, as has been the case for a lot of the Predators’ players, he has underachieved. Through 57 games this season, he has just nine goals and 12 assists despite still logging 17:39 per game of ice time.
Minnesota finds itself in the bottom half of the league offensively with key injuries to players like Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek playing a part in that. Nyquist should have an opportunity to jump into a middle-six role and at least deepen the lineup while ideally being able to provide them with a boost in their secondary scoring. They’re paying a fairly high cost to get Nyquist at half price so they clearly expect that the change of scenery will help get him going again.
With the move, Nashville has now used its three salary retention slots with the others being on Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Johansen, whose grievance for his contract termination was held last week. If that termination is upheld by Friday, the Predators could get that third slot back but it seems unlikely a ruling will come that quickly. In the meantime, they now have eight picks in the first two rounds between the 2025 and 2026 drafts, positioning themselves well to add some young impactful talent to the cupboard relatively quickly.
Meanwhile, Minnesota now has roughly $6.6MM remaining in its LTIR pool, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). That’s with Kaprizov in LTIR and Eriksson Ek on regular injured reserve. Assuming both players return before the end of the season, the Wild will need to clear around $2.4MM in salary off their books to get back into cap compliance. Accordingly, unless they know one of their veterans won’t be back until the playoffs start, the Wild will be hard-pressed to make any other additions without clearing out some money either beforehand or as part of that trade.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.
For a 2nd?!?!
Guerin actually thinks he’s competing for a cup, Utah hammered the Wild on Thursday night, Marc-Andre Blurry was flopping all over the goal crease like a walrus having a seizure, Minnesota also looked bad last night against the Avs. Gustavsson is also in the middle of his annual collapse. Nyquist for a second is ahead scratcher.
Weak return for Trotz. That 2nd round pick will be pick #50 or later in 2026. And why not allow the bidding to go up leading to the deadline?
You think a 35 year old is worth more than a second round pick?
Strongly disagree. This is an incredible overpay by Guerin. Nyquist has been in continuous decline for multiple seasons now (save for last year, obviously) and has been almost invisible this year, making last season look like a one-and-done flash in the pan. Trotz got a ridiculously good offer and grabbed it with both hands–wisely.
I think you’re both correct. It’s good value for Nashville, but waiting until closer to the deadline might maximize offers if teams missed out on their main targets.
That was a substantial return for Nyquist. A 2nd Rd pick for a 35 yr old with 21 pts. Nashville should be laughing. Minny could of probably gotten Donato from the hawks for that price who is only 28.
“Save for last year” is the key point. Everyone is having a down year for the Preds (thank you Andrew Brunette), so if you’re GM Guerin, you’re banking on Gus of last season showing up.
I agree that that’s Guerin’s thinking here, but I think the chances of him rediscovering last season’s form are slim (35 years old, and had several down seasons prior to last year as well-could be attributed to Nashville’s season on the whole, but I feel like it’s unfortunately a harbinger of where he’s at at this point).
Nice trade by peds. I would have said a 5th rounder based on this year at best.
People calling this an overpay are ignoring his process stats. He’s still a possession monster and useful in all three zones.
As a Caps fan, I’m happy that both the market is set at only a late 2nd for a legit middle six forward AND that Nyquist wasn’t our guy.
Definitely a fair price, considering the salary retained. I like it for both sides.
Minnesota acquiring Gustav Nyquist is a surely rental move. Minnesota needs offensive depth & Nyquist does provide some offense while Kaprizov & Eriksson Ek work their way back from injury.
I do feel a 2nd round pick is a bit high for a 35 year old on the decline. A 3rd round pick would have been more reasonable but credit to Nashville being able to nab a higher pick then it deserved IMO.
I’m confused – Who was the Preds’ coach last year?
Wilf Paiement