The Detroit Red Wings locked up one of their core pieces for the future on Friday, inking right-winger Gustav Nyquist to a four-year, $19-million deal.
Per season, Nyquist, who had filed for arbitration earlier this week, will earn $4 million, $4.25 million, $5.25 million and $5.5 million over the course of the pact, the last two seasons covering what would have been his first two years of unrestricted free agency. The last two years also include a full no-movement clause.
“He’s really coming into the prime of his career,… Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. “It’s a league with I think less than 20 players scored 30 goals (actually only 15).
“Gus had 28 goals in 57 games two years ago. To get 28 goals once is a nice accomplishment. To (nearly) do it in back to back years in this league is tremendous.
“When I look at what Gus has produced the last two years, you add in his age, and you look around the league, how hard it is to score. In college and the American League he’s produced offense. At 25 he’s coming into his prime.
“We went back and forth and found a solution that got us two years of his unrestricted free agency. It’s a contract that’s fair for the player and the club.…
Nyquist, 25, scored 27 goals last season, second on the team to the 29 posted by Tomas Tatar.
While some might think the stipend a bit steep for a player who’s scored just three goals in 30 playoff games, Holland points out that both Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk also both took time to find their sea legs in the post season.
“As I reflect back through the years on some of our players in our organization it took a while to translate that regular season success into the playoffs,… Holland said. “Last year we had seven-game series, the year before five games. It’s hard to evaluate players on five games and seven games, that’s why you play an 82-game schedule. It gives players and opportunity to show what they can do. You get evaluated on a short body of work (in the playoffs).…
“When I look at Gus, he was a very productive player in college and translated that into being very productive in the AHL. Now he comes to the NHL, and two years ago when we had a lot of people injured he was a key in helping us get into the playoffs. He’s 25; he’s been through some playoff runs. He’s continued to develop as a player.…
“You need more games to get comfortable to do what you do. Gustav Nyquist is one of the people we’re building around, when you look at his age and his accomplishments.…
“He’s really coming into the prime of his career. I don’t even know if he’s in his prime yet. The next four years will be important years in Gustav Nyquist’s career. He’s home-grown, developed by us, he’s a good person, he wants to be a Red Wing, wants to be in Detroit.…
The deal brings Detroit’s cap hit for 2015-16 to $71.3 million, just $950,000 below the salary cap, and Holland acknowledged that once he signed his other two restricted free agents – forwards Tomas Jurco and Teemu Pulkkinen – the Wings will be slightly over the cap, but there’s always the possibility that Datsyuk (ankle surgery) or Johan Franzen (post concussion syndrome) will start the season on injured reserve.
“We’ve got to get to camp, let it play itself out and pick a team,… Holland said. “With the additions we made on July 1, we’re a little deeper than last year.
“We’re hoping for a competitive training camp.…
Strengthening Up The Wings made another move Friday, adding Mike Kader to their staff as strength and conditioning coach. Kader has served in a similar role with the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2007 and is well known to Wings assistant coach Tony Granato, who was on the Penguins’ staff from 2009-14.
Kadar, 46, from Elnora, Alberta, also has experience as a strength and conditioning coach for the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs (2002-03) and at Red Deer College (2001-02), as well as internationally for Slovenia at the 2007 IIHF world championship Division I in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where the team won its group to earn a promotion to the main world championship division the following season.
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer