To plenty of people in the hockey world, the San Jose Sharks were one of the stealth winners of the trade deadline after landing Gustav Nyquist in a night owl trade with the Detroit Red Wings.
[More on the trade, including the cost for the Sharks.]
The winger had been quiet early on, only managing an empty-net goal through his first four games with the Sharks. Tuesday presented a possible breakthrough, as Nyquist scored two goals in San Jose’s 5-4 win against the Winnipeg Jets, giving him points (2G, 1A) during the Sharks’ back-to-back set.
Overall, Nyquist has three goals and four assists in seven games. Most importantly, the Sharks are red-hot, with six straight wins. They’ve only lost one time since landing Nyquist.
So, how is he integrating into the lineup, and how do the Sharks look with him? Some of this stuff will sneak under the radar, but it’s promising overall.
Nyquist’s first seven games with San Jose
So far, much of Nyquist’s points can be attributed to the great work of Tomas Hertl.
Nyquist’s first of four points in teal came on an empty-netter (albeit a fairly long-range one), but his other three can largely be credited to Hertl.
- On Monday, Nyquist received a secondary assist on a Hertl goal. His part in that play seemed to have started before the goal highlight even began.
- On Tuesday, Nyquist enjoyed that two-goal game. The first happened after Hertl made some dazzling dangles, opening things up for “The Goose” to bury the puck with a backhander.
- Hertl didn’t get credited with an assist on Nyquist’s second goal, but he set the events in motion by creating space and sending the puck toward the Jets’ net. It was technically unsuccessful in that a Jets skater batted it away, but Marc-Edouard Vlasic was able to send it back, and the puck apparently deflected off of Nyquist.
So, while Nyquist has three goals and one assist for four points during his first seven games with the Sharks, he doesn’t really have a “signature” moment yet. But that doesn’t mean he’s playing poorly.
Take that two-goal Tuesday, for example. Sure, Hertl was the driving force on those two goals, but Nyquist generated six shots on goal, his most in any single game with the Sharks so far.
He’s been a nice addition in subtler ways, carrying over his strong possession numbers from Detroit to San Jose, as he’s been a boost to shot share relative to his teammates on both teams. Perhaps Nyquist will also make a more obvious impact as he gains Peter DeBoer’s trust? So far, the winger’s averaging 16 minutes of ice time per game with San Jose, down from his 18:07 TOI average with Detroit in 2018-19. It’s plausible that Nyquist won’t ever flirt with 18 minutes per night with San Jose, as the Sharks are pretty loaded (particularly compared to the rebuilding Red Wings), but even another shift or two per night could help him generate more offense.
The combination of Hertl and Nyquist could really give opposing teams headaches, especially since they’d likely draw easier matchups while Logan Couture and others would likely face top pairings and better skaters.
Maybe Nyquist won’t wow the Sharks enough to stay around (he’s a pending UFA), but it seems like he’s been a nice addition, one who could provide crucial depth during the battles of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sharks are on a roll
Much like the Golden Knights rattling off wins even though Mark Stone was slow to score at first, the Sharks have been red-hot since acquiring Nyquist, whether you attribute that to the addition or count it as a coincidence.
After falling 4-1 to the Bruins during Nyquist’s first game with the Sharks on Feb. 26, San Jose’s now on a six-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 25-13 during that run.
They’ve actually been a bit less dominant at five-on-five during the past seven games versus their full-season stats (according to Natural Stat Trick), but that’s a small sample size ... and possession monster Erik Karlsson has been sidelined since Feb. 26. All things considered, the Sharks sure seem formidable.
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The ideal situation for San Jose would be that Nyquist will be fully acclimated to his new teammates by the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (and Erik Karlsson can be healthy and rust-free by that same point). While some dreamed of Nyquist forming a rather overqualified third line with Joe Thornton, recent returns indicate that the Sharks might be onto something by pairing him with Hertl.
Nyquist hasn’t been lighting up scoreboards for the Sharks - yet? - but he’s been mixing in quite well, and the Sharks look like they’ll be difficult to deal with in a best-of-seven series.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.