Blue Jackets’ Gustav Nyquist Could Miss Rest of Regular Season, Likely Return for Playoffs
Columbus Blue Jackets fans have already likely seen Gustav Nyquist, an impending unrestricted free agent, play his final game with the franchise this season.
The 33-year-old, sidelined since Jan. 25 due to a shoulder injury, is expected to miss the rest of the regular season, announced by the team via social media on Wednesday. Columbus’ PR department also confirmed the injury won’t require surgery.
Nyquist departed last week’s contest versus the Edmonton Oilers in the first period and didn’t return, ending his night after just 3:33 of ice time. The Blue Jackets ruled him out indefinitely a few days later.
Interestingly, the 5-foot-11 lefty refuted the club’s statement before departing for the All-Star break on Wednesday, believing he still has a chance to return in 2022-23. And since surgery isn’t on the table, that could be a realistic expectation.
Unless a setback occurs, Nyquist isn’t ruling himself out just yet and hopes his return is weeks away rather than months.
“It’s weeks, not months, and it doesn’t require surgery,” Nyquist told The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. “My hope, honestly, is to be ready before the end of the regular season. My goal is to be back before the regular season is over. I’m hoping this heals fairly quickly.”
TSN’s Chris Johnston doubled down on Nyquist’s belief shortly after, tweeting the veteran winger could be medically cleared to return before the regular season concludes, possibly in early April. He will likely require a rehab stint before returning to NHL action, though.
Still, with Nyquist potentially available for the postseason, his injury might not preclude him from being traded by the March 3rd deadline.
Considering Nyquist will miss most – if not all – of the remaining games in the regular season, Columbus’ return for the four-time 20-goal scorer won’t be as high as it could’ve been had he been healthy. But as someone with seven seasons of playoff experience, he could still be a valuable addition.
The fourth-round selection from 2008 features a $5.5 million cap hit this season, which the Blue Jackets are likely to retain a portion of, possibly as much as 50 percent. Once acquired, a team can place his contract on long-term injured reserve, creating additional financial flexibility.
If Nyquist is sidelined until the postseason, any team could activate him off LTIR without worrying about overages, as the salary cap doesn’t impact club payrolls beyond the regular season.
Nyquist signed a four-year, $22-million deal in free agency with Columbus in 2019 and has been a consistent half-point-per-game player since then. He owns 43 goals and 117 points over 200 games with the franchise while averaging 17:54 of ice time per night.
Before injuring his shoulder, the left-hander notched 10 goals and 22 points across 48 contests this season, ranking fourth on the team in goals.
The 11-year NHL veteran has logged 65 career playoff games, posting five goals and 21 points, making his deepest run in 2019 with the San Jose Sharks, advancing to the Western Conference Final.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: neighborhoods.org . This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.