Rumor: Flames and Senators pursuing fwd Joakim Nygard of Farjestad BK in Swedish Hockey League

[Rubi]

Flames, Senators Among Teams Pursuing Joakim Nygard

In tonight’s “Insider Trading” segment on TSN, Darren Dreger reported that one free agent race is already heating up more than three months before unrestricted free agency opens in the NHL. Joakim Nygard, who is currently playing for the top-seeded Farjestad BK in Swedish Hockey League postseason, is looking to make the jump to the NHL this off-season and there is already considerable interest. Among the teams rumored to be leading the pack in the pursuit of Nygard are two Canadian clubs on opposite ends of the spectrum, the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators.
It comes as little surprise that Nygard has been attracting attention this season. The 26-year-old forward is enjoying a career year in the SHL, skating on a line with Boston Bruins prospect Oskar Steen, the only Farjestad forward who has outscored him this season. Nygard played in all 52 regular season games this season, recording a career-high 21 goals and 35 points. Nygard finished second in the league goal-scoring race and helped to fuel his team to a top finish. Now he has to finish the job in the playoffs.

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[PatrikBerglund]

Flames, Senators Among Teams Pursuing Joakim Nygard

Which nationality? Not Swedish?

 

[Rubi]

Which nationality? Not Swedish?

He was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

Joakim Nygård at eliteprospects.com

 

[TheGroceryStick]

 

[FameFlame069]

If Calgary/Ottawa intrigue him, maybe it's because it's colder in Canada? But if it's only them two he'll choose Calgary

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

If Calgary/Ottawa intrigue him, maybe it's because it's colder in Canada? But if it's only them two he'll choose Calgary

Not necesarily.. There is potential for him to jump into Sens lineup and get rolling immediately with whatever is going on in Ottawa... Flames have a deadly team and it may be tough for him to beat out other guys for regular icetime.

Depends what he wants.. Start winning immediately with Calgary and have a tougher time getting minutes potentially OR jump into a rebuild, playing with alot of youth and have a better chance getting alot of icetime

Im sure other teams will get more into the mix too

 

[IslesNorway]

Nygård is a Norwegian name but he could still be Swedish of course. Guessing half Swedish, half Norwegian

 

[danielpalfredsson]

If Calgary/Ottawa intrigue him, maybe it's because it's colder in Canada? But if it's only them two he'll choose Calgary

Ottawa would be the better spot for him.

Look at what joining the Senators has done for Duclair, Lindberg, and Gibbons. Duclair is an RFA, but both Gibbons and Lindberg are probably thanking the hockey gods they got dealt to Ottawa in the tail end of a UFA year. Being traded to Ottawa just increased not only the viability of a player like Gibbons getting a 1 way deal, but the amount of salary that he can bargain for.

Similar to those three players, Nygard would be more likely to get an increased role in Ottawa than Calgary. This will set him up to bargain for a better second contract.

There's also the NHL pension. If a player like Nygard comes to Ottawa, he's more likely to play in the NHL in general. That means, he's more likely to accrue the games needed to qualify for the NHL pension.

The Senators won't be an attractive destination for stars and established players, but for a player who might be a bottom 6 forward, signing with the Senators would be a much better career opportunity than signing with an established team like the Flames.

 

[DJB]

More importantly than arguing over who should get him, anyone familiar with him able to provide a scouting report?

 

[theslatcher]

Över 20 NHL-klubbar jagar Nygård: ”Spelar i NHL om han vill”

Over 20 NHL teams are pursuing him, Ottawa & Calgary are just the teams showing the most interest in him right now.

 

[theslatcher]

More importantly than arguing over who should get him, anyone familiar with him able to provide a scouting report?

Dreger also offers an NHL comparison for Nygard in Carl Hagelin, stating that Nygard’s skating ability is elite and he can “flat out fly”. The book on Nygard had been that he has the physical and technical tools down, but was still raw in his hockey sense and execution. It seems that he has improved in that area over the past few years and is now ready to show his complete game at the next level.

 

[justafan22]

Ottawa would be the better spot for him.

Look at what joining the Senators has done for Duclair, Lindberg, and Gibbons. Duclair is an RFA, but both Gibbons and Lindberg are probably thanking the hockey gods they got dealt to Ottawa in the tail end of a UFA year. Being traded to Ottawa just increased not only the viability of a player like Gibbons getting a 1 way deal, but the amount of salary that he can bargain for.

Similar to those three players, Nygard would be more likely to get an increased role in Ottawa than Calgary. This will set him up to bargain for a better second contract.

There's also the NHL pension. If a player like Nygard comes to Ottawa, he's more likely to play in the NHL in general. That means, he's more likely to accrue the games needed to qualify for the NHL pension.

The Senators won't be an attractive destination for stars and established players, but for a player who might be a bottom 6 forward, signing with the Senators would be a much better career opportunity than signing with an established team like the Flames.

That's why I believe ottawa will be a prime destination for middle six UFAs this summer on short term deals.

 

[crackdown44]

The Swedish dynamic in Calgary should help a bit here. Not much in the pipeline up front and there will be salary cap casualties

I could see an argument for him signing in either spot

 

[Volica]

Come to the NHLs new Sweden, Calgary.

 

[super6646]

Come to the NHLs new Sweden, Calgary.

Eat shit Vancouver!

 

[These Are The Days]

Do yourself a favor kid.... wait til Melnyk sells the team

 

[Some Other Flame]

If Nygard wants to play in the NHL sooner than later he should definitely not sign in Calgary. With Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Bennett and Mangipane on the left side, there's no immediate room for him.

And Treliving has a long history of signing European players and then leaving them in the AHL all season.

 

[Hale The Villain]

That's why I believe ottawa will be a prime destination for middle six UFAs this summer on short term deals.

I don't know if we have all that much room to add UFAs this summer.

Tkachuk - Tierney - Ryan
Duclair* - White - Batherson
Smith - Pageau - Boedker
Paajarvi* - Gibbons* - Balcers
+ Chlapik/Brown/Veronneau/Paul

Chabot - DeMelo
Borowiecki - Ceci*
Wolanin - Jaros
+ Harpur/Lajoie/Brannstrom

Anderson
Condon
Hogberg

Paajarvi and Gibbons are UFAs, but have fit in very well in Ottawa and I expect them to re-sign
Duclair and Ceci are RFAs. Duclair probably gets re-signed, Ceci could be traded.

Unless the Sens trade a couple guys, there's not a whole lot of room for UFAs on forward or D.

 

[780il]

If he wants a roster spot right away he should look a bit north of Calgary...

Most likely he'd instantly become our best natural winger.

 

[bert]

I don't know if we have all that much room to add UFAs this summer.

Tkachuk - Tierney - Ryan
Duclair* - White - Batherson
Smith - Pageau - Boedker
Paajarvi* - Gibbons* - Balcers
+ Chlapik/Brown/Veronneau/Paul

Chabot - DeMelo
Borowiecki - Ceci*
Wolanin - Jaros
+ Harpur/Lajoie/Brannstrom

Anderson
Condon
Hogberg

Paajarvi and Gibbons are UFAs, but have fit in very well in Ottawa and I expect them to re-sign
Duclair and Ceci are RFAs. Duclair probably gets re-signed, Ceci could be traded.

Unless the Sens trade a couple guys, there's not a whole lot of room for UFAs on forward or D.

There is plenty of room for UFA's with that lineup man.

 

[Hale The Villain]

There is plenty of room for UFA's with that lineup man.

I'm not arguing that it's a good lineup, but we have enough players if we were to re-sign Paajarvi+Gibbons and re-sign our RFAs.

Maybe we let one of them go and sign a better player in free agency, but we're hardly going to be a major player come July 1st, in terms of quality or quantity of UFAs signed.

 

[bert]

I'm not arguing that it's a good lineup, but we have enough players if we were to re-sign Paajarvi+Gibbons and re-sign our RFAs.

Maybe we let one of them go and sign a better player in free agency, but we're hardly going to be a major player come July 1st, in terms of quality or quantity of UFAs signed.

Well they shouldnt sign Gibbons of Paarjarvi they should sign good players not journeymen. Zack Smith on the third line is just brutal he is a bad player at this point. On the other hand the sens should really tank next year, its crucial they end up with either Lafrennier or Byfield they need an elite scorer up front. So maybe they should sign those guys... Play Zack Smith first line keep matching Ceci against the other teams top lines to ensure they finish last.

 

[izzy]

is anyone going after virtanen? impressive numbers his last three seasons

 

[CanadienShark]

The Swedish dynamic in Calgary should help a bit here. Not much in the pipeline up front and there will be salary cap casualties

I could see an argument for him signing in either spot

Come to the NHLs new Sweden, Calgary.

Eat **** Vancouver!

Is this actually a thing? Don't the Flames only have like 3 or 4 Swedes?

 

[crackdown44]

Is this actually a thing? Don't the Flames only have like 3 or 4 Swedes?

Backlund, Lindholm, Andersson, Fantenburg, Kylington and quite a few more in the AHL. 5 is relatively high, there might be a few teams with more or close to the same amount