Philadelphia Flyers 2019 Free Agency Profile: Gustav Nyquist

The soon to be 30-year-old winger would be an excellent option to fill the Philadelphia Flyers third line right wing position, but the cost might be a bit too high.

Gustav Nyquist has long been a rock-solid offensive player since his 28 goal campaign during 2013-14 with the Detroit Red Wings, even if he hasn’t matched the total since then. He nearly matched that career high in the following season but saw his goal-scoring numbers dip in the next two years. Nyquist was still able to get at least 40 points in every season since he broke onto the scene.

More recently, the 2008 fourth-round pick had his best season points-wise between the Red Wings and San Jose Sharks through his eight-year NHL tenure. Nyquist netted 60 points (22 Goals, 40 Assists) in 81 games played. He also found great success during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping the Sharks reach the Western Conference Finals with his 11 points in 20 game performance. While San Jose couldn’t get passed the Stanley Cup-winning St. Louis Blues, Nyquist all but secured himself a big-time payday this upcoming summer with a career-high in postseason points.

The veteran forward may not be the goal-scorer he used to be but showed he can still hit the 20 goal mark, which would bode well for the Philadelphia Flyers scoring depth. Nyquist has also been a tremendous puck-possesser throughout his career, with his Corsi and Fenwick-For percentages dipping below the 50.0% mark just once during the eight-year span at even strength. Putting Nolan Patrick, who will likely be the third line centerman in 2019-2020 if everything goes to plan this offseason, on a line with a guy like Nyquist could aid in his production since he hasn’t been the greatest of play-drivers these past two years.

The only knock on bringing Nyquist in would be how much he’d cost. If General Manager Chuck Fletcher can ink Kevin Hayes and the important Restricted Free Agents to individual contracts, he won’t have a whole lot of money to work with after all is said and done, unless some of the RFAs take team-friendly deals. The addition of Matt Niskanen plays into this, too, and if I had to guess, Nyquist would get a contract with an AAV north of five million dollars. I don’t know how smart it’d be to pay a guy who’s about to turn 30 that kind of money if the Flyers even have that kind of space available when all is said and done. I’d think about it if the term wasn’t too long, but this is likely Nyquist’s last big contract, so he may not accept a two-to-three year deal.

Nyquist definitely has the skill set that should interest Fletcher, but the price might be a little too high depending on how much he possibly pays Hayes and the RFA’s.