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Deep team only gets deeper as Sharks acquire Nyquist

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The San Jose Sharks picked up Gustav Nyquist from the Red Wings in a trade to add some scoring as they look to improve their position in the West.

A San Jose Sharks team that appears to be as stacked as they come found a way to become deeper late on Sunday night.

The Sharks sent a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2020 draft to the Detroit Red Wings to take over Gustav Nyquist’s services -- just hours after the Sharks downed Detroit 5-3 on Sunday evening (a game Nyquist scored in).

The deal is great value for the Sharks.

Nyquist helps round out the Sharks top-nine, and will likely slot in on a line with Joe Thornton and Kevin Labanc as he begins his life in the shark tank. He has 13 goals and 49 points in 62 games this season and is three assists and five points shy of matching career highs in both categories.

“Gustav is a talented, versatile forward who plays with speed and a strong hockey sense,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. “His track record of strong play and character speak for themselves and we’re very excited to add him to our dressing room.”

TSN’s Bob McKenzie said Nyquist was asked to waive his no-trade clause. The answer, obviously, was yes.

“I’ve had eight amazing years in Detroit, but it’s gonna be great to come to Sharks and try and go all the way,” Nyquist reportedly told Sweden newspaper Aftonbladet.

The add of Nyquist helps solidify secondary scoring for the Sharks that was already doing well in that department.
[Winners and losers of the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline]

The Sharks sit second in the Western Conference on 82 points, three back of the Calgary Flames (who have a game in hand).

According to TSN, the conditional third-rounder in 2020 would turn into a second-round pick if the Sharks make the Stanley Cup Final this year or they re-sign the 29-year-old. Nyquist is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He’s closing out a four-year, $19 million deal with the Red Wings and has spent his eight-year NHL career in Detroit after being drafted in the fourth round in 2008.

Pierre LeBrun, also of TSN, reported that the Red Wings are retaining 30 percent of Nyquist’s remaining salary.

Given the volatility in the West at the moment, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Sharks make it to the Cup Final. So the trade could fetch a better return in the end. We’d assume that a deal to re-sign Nyquist wasn’t going to happen, so the Red Wings -- not making a playoff push, never mind one at the Cup -- needed to get something in return.

The Red Wings, in rebuild mode, have already begun their sell-off after shipping off defenseman Nick Jensen to the Washington Capitals on Friday.


Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck