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Blue Jackets sign Nyquist as Kekalainen moves forward

St Louis Blues v San Jose Sharks - Game Two

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MAY 13: Gustav Nyquist #14 of the San Jose Sharks in action against the St. Louis Blues in Game Two of the Western Conference Final during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 13, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Jarmo Kekalainen’s quest to replace all that he has lost has begun with the signing of Gustav Nyquist.

Nyquist has inked a four-year, $22 million deal with an annual average value of $5.5 million.

Nyquist is the first move in what will likely be many for Kekalainen as he looks to restock the cupboards after

Kekalainen has his work cut out for him this summer.

With Artemi Panarin heading to the New York Rangers, Sergei Bobrovsky jumping ship to the Florida Panthers and Matt Duchene off to the Predators, the Blue Jackets have lost their top center, top scorer and top goalie.

The list of lost assets is quite lengthy, actually:

Much work has to be done in Columbus.
[ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker]

Not to be lost in this is the fact that the San Jose Sharks have lost a good chunk of their forward contingent, as well.

Joe Pavelski is off to Dallas and Joonas Donskoi is heading to the Colorado Avalanche, moves the Sharks could do little about after giving Erik Karlsson a king’s ransom and signing Timo Meier (to what actually seems to be a very good deal).

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.