Columbus Blue Jackets’ Gustav Nyquist done for season with shoulder injury; could return for playoffs
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that pending UFA forward Gustav Nyquist will miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury. Nyquist injured his shoulder against Edmonton on Jan. 25 and was placed on injured reserve three days later. His injury won’t require surgery. That said, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Wednesday that Nyquist will return in time for the playoffs, which would open up a potential loophole for a contending team to place his $5.5 million AAV on LTIR and activate him for the postseason when the cap would no longer be in play.
The 33-year-old has 10 goals and 22 points in 48 games. He was expected to be a decent trade chip ahead of the deadline next month, with Nyquist set to become a UFA after his four-year deal this season, and could still be an option if indeed healthy enough to make it back for the playoffs.
Nyquist is sixth on the team in scoring while acting in a middle-six role with Columbus. Nyquist had 18 goals and 53 points last year, the highest of his four-year tenure with Columbus and the fourth-highest total of his career. He also has 423 points in 700 games over 12 seasons with Detroit, San Jose and Columbus, scoring a career-high 60 points in 2018-19 before signing his deal in Columbus.
Among other accomplishments, Nyquist participated in the 2014 Olympics and three World Championships with Sweden, winning bronze in 2014 and gold four years later.
The Blue Jackets currently have a 25.5 percent chance of landing the first overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft, good for first. The Blue Jackets are already missing some key players for the long run, with Yegor Chinakhov, Jakub Voracek, Jake Bean, Justin Danforth and Zach Werenski all missing a large chunk of time, so losing Nyquist will continue to help their chances at landing Connor Bedard. Columbus sits last with a 15-32-4 record and 34 points in 51 games and is 3-5-2 over the past 10 contests.
The Blue Jackets will have the next nine days off before welcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 10.