Confirmed with Link: Nyquist re-signed for 4 years

[Actual Thought*]

Abdelkader didn't turn anything around. The series was already 1-1 when he came back. He wasn't the cause of us losing but that's about the best you can say for him in that series.

If you'd rather a team full of Abdelkaders rather than Nyquists enjoy the 1st overall draft picks year after year.

I suppose you wanted Datsyuk traded when he struggled through his first couple playoffs, Zetterberg too.

I just laugh when I see comparisons of Nyquist to Datsyuk. It makes me wonder. Do you even watch hockey? Have you ever contrasted a playoff game to a regular season game? How do you explain Nyquist completely disappears in the playoffs? It's obvious he doesn't go where it is hard to go. I am shocked anyone is making the argument to the contrary.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Abdelkader did some good things, but much more impact is a bit of an overstatement. He had 2 assists, and was worse than invisible the last two games. But, looking back at the footage, the Glendenning line was a trainwreck.

Abby does many things that don't show up on a stat sheet. Nyquist doesn't. If Gus isn't on the stat sheet he is pretty useless and he hasn't shown up on a stat sheet very much in the playoffs. The same is not true for Abby. Just watch the games.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Abby does many things that don't show up on a stat sheet. Nyquist doesn't. If Gus isn't on the stat sheet he is pretty useless and he hasn't shown up on a stat sheet very much in the playoffs. The same is not true for Abby. Just watch the games.

Yeah, having a guy who drives the power play, scores goals, sets up goals, is a lot worse than a guy who deflects pucks off passes from hall of famers and hits. Goals don't win hockey games, grit and intangibles do.

 

[FlashyG]

I just laugh when I see comparisons of Nyquist to Datsyuk. It makes me wonder. Do you even watch hockey? Have you ever contrasted a playoff game to a regular season game? How do you explain Nyquist completely disappears in the playoffs? It's obvious he doesn't go where it is hard to go. I am shocked anyone is making the argument to the contrary.

You know what's way more laughable than comparing Nyquist to Datsyuk.

Claiming Abdelkader is more valuable than Nyquist.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Yeah, having a guy who drives the power play, scores goals, sets up goals, is a lot worse than a guy who deflects pucks off passes from hall of famers and hits. Goals don't win hockey games, grit and intangibles do.

Nyquist doesn't score playoff goals at nearly the pace he scores in the regular. He didn't at the AHL level either. Being that he doesn't bring much else it is important that he does so. Abby may not be as skilled but he brings a lot more dimension to his game. Guys who are willing to go to the net score in the playoffs.

You know what's way more laughable than comparing Nyquist to Datsyuk.

Claiming Abdelkader is more valuable than Nyquist.

In the playoffs Abby has been more valuable but that hasn't been difficult. Nyquist has been completely ineffective.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Nyquist doesn't score playoff goals at nearly the pace he scores in the regular. He didn't at the AHL level either. Being that he doesn't bring much else it is important that he does so. Abby may not be as skilled but he brings a lot more dimension to his game. Guys who are willing to go to the net score in the playoffs.



In the playoffs Abby has been more valuable but that hasn't been difficult. Nyquist has been completely ineffective.

Because we all know how big Nyquist's sample size in the playoffs have been.

Oh wait...

Also, remember when supposedly Holland almost traded Datsyuk for Gomez in like 2007 because of his poor playoff performances up until that point? Boy, that would have been silly.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Because we all know how big Nyquist's sample size in the playoffs have been.

Oh wait...

Also, remember when supposedly Holland almost traded Datsyuk for Gomez in like 2007 because of his poor playoff performances up until that point? Boy, that would have been silly.

Nyquist is no Datsyuk.
Because Datsyuk did something is not a valid argument that Nyquist will do the same. That's silly.
At this point in his career Nyquist's game is not suitable for success in the playoffs. It remains to be seen if he can correct it.

 

[HockeyinHD]

Nyquist doesn't score playoff goals at nearly the pace he scores in the regular. He didn't at the AHL level either.

310 AHL/NHL regular season games, 112 goals.
40 AHL/NHL playoff games, 5 goals.

Two NHL plus one AHL year in it is impossible to say there's not a gigantic dropoff between Nyquist's regular season and playoff goalscoring as a professional, to date.

It is possible (and correct) to say that it's a pretty small sample size of games. One more hat trick over 40 games and he'd be right on a pace for a respectable, albeit unimpressive, rate of playoff production relative to his regular season play.

It is possible (and correct) to suggest that Nyquist may improve.

It is possible (and correct) to mention it's a bit unfair to presume playoff goals should mirror regular season goals.

Taking even all of those perfectly fair and reasonable exceptions into account, there's no other reasonable conclusion to reach than as of right now it's a thing. The dropoff is too pronounced to ignore.

If that changes for the better in 2016, great! We can shelve these concerns, having seen playoff production to silence them. If 2016 continues his postseason history, however... it's something that merits consideration.

 

[Frk It]

310 AHL/NHL regular season games, 112 goals.
40 AHL/NHL playoff games, 5 goals.

Two NHL plus one AHL year in it is impossible to say there's not a gigantic dropoff between Nyquist's regular season and playoff goalscoring as a professional, to date.

It is possible (and correct) to say that it's a pretty small sample size of games. One more hat trick over 40 games and he'd be right on a pace for a respectable, albeit unimpressive, rate of playoff production relative to his regular season play.

It is possible (and correct) to suggest that Nyquist may improve.

It is possible (and correct) to mention it's a bit unfair to presume playoff goals should mirror regular season goals.

Taking even all of those perfectly fair and reasonable exceptions into account, there's no other reasonable conclusion to reach than as of right now it's a thing. The dropoff is too pronounced to ignore.

If that changes for the better in 2016, great! We can shelve these concerns, having seen playoff production to silence them. If 2016 continues his postseason history, however... it's something that merits consideration.

Some context to these numbers

12-13 - Nyquist played 12:35 of Ice time per game. That was inbetween Samulesson and Emmerton, for some perspective there. So nearly half (14/30) of his NHL playoff games have been played being given 4th line minutes.

13-14 - Entire team was manhandled against Boston. Scored 6 goals in 5 games as a team.

14-15 - Nyquist was reportedly injured, which kept him from participating in the World Championships. In addition, he was playing with Zetterberg, who had the worst playoff series of his career.

So yeah, 3 goals in 30 playoff games is lousy. When you look at the context though, does not look nearly as bad.

I look at this upcoming post-season as especially important. I think he rises to the occasion and proves his worth.

 

[Gyldenlove]

310 AHL/NHL regular season games, 112 goals.
40 AHL/NHL playoff games, 5 goals.

Two NHL plus one AHL year in it is impossible to say there's not a gigantic dropoff between Nyquist's regular season and playoff goalscoring as a professional, to date.

It is possible (and correct) to say that it's a pretty small sample size of games. One more hat trick over 40 games and he'd be right on a pace for a respectable, albeit unimpressive, rate of playoff production relative to his regular season play.

It is possible (and correct) to suggest that Nyquist may improve.

It is possible (and correct) to mention it's a bit unfair to presume playoff goals should mirror regular season goals.

Taking even all of those perfectly fair and reasonable exceptions into account, there's no other reasonable conclusion to reach than as of right now it's a thing. The dropoff is too pronounced to ignore.

If that changes for the better in 2016, great! We can shelve these concerns, having seen playoff production to silence them. If 2016 continues his postseason history, however... it's something that merits consideration.

Brandon Saad is a guy who has been brought up several times to compare to Nyquist in terms of playoff clutchness, I am assuming mainly because the coincidental contracts.

Saad had 1 goal in his first 25 NHL playoff games. He has 14 in the 42 games since then.

Nyquist has 3 goals in his first 30 NHL playoff games.

I am not suggesting that Nyquist will score nearly 0.5 goals per game in his next 40 playoff games, because I have no shred of evidence supporting that.

I agree with the notion that the next long playoff run the Red Wings go on, Nyquist will have to produce at a level much closer to his regular season performance in order to avoid being labeled a choker.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Nyquist is no Datsyuk.
Because Datsyuk did something is not a valid argument that Nyquist will do the same. That's silly.
At this point in his career Nyquist's game is not suitable for success in the playoffs. It remains to be seen if he can correct it.

Not every player on the team needs to be "built" for the playoffs.

 

[Heaton]

I'm confused, is this debate whether Nyquist is bad in the playoffs, while Tatar is good in the playoffs or something? Neither guy has been good in the playoffs, yet.

 

[Frk It]

Not every player on the team needs to be "built" for the playoffs.

Someone has to score goals in the regular season to get us to the play-offs, right?

I'm confused, is this debate whether Nyquist is bad in the playoffs, while Tatar is good in the playoffs or something? Neither guy has been good in the playoffs, yet.

If you put Nyquist with Datsyuk, and Tatar with Zetterberg last year, I have very little doubt their numbers would flip flop.

 

[Winger98]

Not every player on the team needs to be "built" for the playoffs.

They have to fill a role, though. I don't remember too many passengers on our cup teams, and if Nyquist isn't putting points on the board, I'm not sure what other job he can really shoulder. I'm with Heaton, though. None of the kids have looked great, though I thought Nyquist and Tatar's games improved as the Tampa series went on.

 

[Vladdy84]

I'm confused, is this debate whether Nyquist is bad in the playoffs, while Tatar is good in the playoffs or something? Neither guy has been good in the playoffs, yet.

If Tats buries that breakaway in Game 7. Do we go to the ECF or dare I say Stanley Cup Final!?

Crazy.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

They have to fill a role, though. I don't remember too many passengers on our cup teams, and if Nyquist isn't putting points on the board, I'm not sure what other job he can really shoulder. I'm with Heaton, though. None of the kids have looked great, though I thought Nyquist and Tatar's games improved as the Tampa series went on.

I agree, and I even said Nyquist has to prove himself in the playoffs. However Abdelkader is getting massively overrated due to his "gritty" style.

 

[Winger98]

I agree, and I even said Nyquist has to prove himself in the playoffs. However Abdelkader is getting massively overrated due to his "gritty" style.

I'm still not sure why Gator and Nyquist are even being compared. If Nyquist was a few inches taller and thirty pounds heavier, yeah, I'd get it. But he's not and their expectations should be different. I think the guys we should be looking at and wondering why they aren't having a similar physical impact are Sheahan and Jurco.

 

[Pavels Dog]

It boils down to willingness to pay the price. It is early in his career but I have seen nothing to indicate Nyquist has that willingness. Some players never learn it. Nyquist is no Datsyuk so I don't see that as a serious comparison. Nyquist is very, very soft.

Nyquist hasn't scored a single gritty playoff goal. He has only scored 3 in 30 games. He cost us the Chicago series because he coughed up the puck that led to the game winner. He absolutely hasn't performed well in the playoffs. These are facts. I wish they weren't but they are. Hopefully he learns to take it up a notch like Tatar but Gus is clearly the softer player and weaker on his skates. For this contract to be good he needs to be much better in the playoffs.

Gritty goals count for 1. The difference is they count in the playoffs. As you can see from his stats Nyquist hasn't learned how to score them. The playoff game is completely different than regular season. Nyquist needs to be willing to go to the net. In the playoffs I will take a bunch of Abbys over a timid dipsy doodler who is unable to work in tight space which perfectly describes Nyquist.

You are aware that Nyquist's production plummets in the playoffs right? You have watched him get knocked off the puck pretty much every time he touches it right? In order to earn his contract he must score goals when it matters. We can't afford a regular season sissy boy at his salary.

I just laugh when I see comparisons of Nyquist to Datsyuk. It makes me wonder. Do you even watch hockey? Have you ever contrasted a playoff game to a regular season game? How do you explain Nyquist completely disappears in the playoffs? It's obvious he doesn't go where it is hard to go. I am shocked anyone is making the argument to the contrary.

You are talking about this guy:





..right?

Nyquist may not be the 'gritty' scorer you want him to be, but to say he's never shown anything in the playoffs and has no potential to do well in the playoffs is false. He's had basically no help in the last two playoff series, and he was injured this year to boot. It's also funny you compare him to Tatar and Abby who have far from impressive playoff resumes.

 

[Actual Thought*]

310 AHL/NHL regular season games, 112 goals.
40 AHL/NHL playoff games, 5 goals.

Two NHL plus one AHL year in it is impossible to say there's not a gigantic dropoff between Nyquist's regular season and playoff goalscoring as a professional, to date.

It is possible (and correct) to say that it's a pretty small sample size of games. One more hat trick over 40 games and he'd be right on a pace for a respectable, albeit unimpressive, rate of playoff production relative to his regular season play.

It is possible (and correct) to suggest that Nyquist may improve.

It is possible (and correct) to mention it's a bit unfair to presume playoff goals should mirror regular season goals.

Taking even all of those perfectly fair and reasonable exceptions into account, there's no other reasonable conclusion to reach than as of right now it's a thing. The dropoff is too pronounced to ignore.

If that changes for the better in 2016, great! We can shelve these concerns, having seen playoff production to silence them. If 2016 continues his postseason history, however... it's something that merits consideration.

Well said as usual. I am not arguing that Nyquist will never produce in the playoffs. I am arguing that he hasn't as of yet. I believe the reason for the dropoff is that he is reluctant to get in the trenches and he hasn't been able to create space for himself in the tighter checking more intense hockey of the play offs.

Some context to these numbers

12-13 - Nyquist played 12:35 of Ice time per game. That was inbetween Samulesson and Emmerton, for some perspective there. So nearly half (14/30) of his NHL playoff games have been played being given 4th line minutes.

13-14 - Entire team was manhandled against Boston. Scored 6 goals in 5 games as a team.

14-15 - Nyquist was reportedly injured, which kept him from participating in the World Championships. In addition, he was playing with Zetterberg, who had the worst playoff series of his career.

So yeah, 3 goals in 30 playoff games is lousy. When you look at the context though, does not look nearly as bad.

I look at this upcoming post-season as especially important. I think he rises to the occasion and proves his worth.

The team was bad against Boston. That isn't on Nyquist. However in the Tampa series he played weak. He was rendered useless.

Not every player on the team needs to be "built" for the playoffs.

This may be the case but I want the $5 million guy to contribute to winning playoff games. I think that's fair.

I'm confused, is this debate whether Nyquist is bad in the playoffs, while Tatar is good in the playoffs or something? Neither guy has been good in the playoffs, yet.

For me the debate is if Nyquist will earn his worth or not. For me the requirement is playoff performance and leadership by example. Nyquist hasn't had his coming out party in the playoffs yet. Abby or Tatar are just examples of players that are willing to play a little greasier in the playoffs.

I like that the contract has an NTC for the last 2 years but not the first 2. If Nyquist has a good regular season but continues to be a ghost in the playoffs you trade him.

 

[Frk It]

The team was bad against Boston. That isn't on Nyquist.

Hard to expect Nyquist to score when we never had the puck, and were thoroughly dominated. Tatar, the guy you are touting, had 0 pt in that series also.

However in the Tampa series he played weak. He was rendered useless.

The series where he was injured? Go figure.

We get the message. He needs to perform in the playoffs. The guy has shown many times he can produce points, and also step up when the team needs him like in 13-14 when he single-handedly dragged us to be in the play-offs in the first place.

Let's let these things play out.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

This may be the case but I want the $5 million guy to contribute to winning playoff games. I think that's fair.

Okay, well we will see if that happens when he is playing in the playoffs with that contract.

 

[Actual Thought*]

You are talking about this guy:





..right?

Nyquist may not be the 'gritty' scorer you want him to be, but to say he's never shown anything in the playoffs and has no potential to do well in the playoffs is false. He's had basically no help in the last two playoff series, and he was injured this year to boot. It's also funny you compare him to Tatar and Abby who have far from impressive playoff resumes.

I agree with the bold part. I would just like to see more from Gus when it counts.

 

[Heaton]

Okay, well we will see if that happens when he is playing in the playoffs with that contract.

I think Nyquist is one of the least worrying things on this roster. Holland has a lot of work to do to make this team a real contender to win playoff series.

 

[Actual Thought*]

Okay, well we will see if that happens when he is playing in the playoffs with that contract.

I hope so. In any case this to me is just an offseason discussion based on Nyquist signing a contract recently. I don't think its a bad signing. I am just hoping he shows in the post season. Its really the only thing left for him to prove.

 

[HisNoodliness]

I think this whole "play-off performer" thing is massively overblown. Honestly if you can score during the regular season, you can score during the playoffs. Generally teams play safer hockey in the playoffs and attempt to limit opportunities from the opponent, thus scoring goes down, particularly for players that other teams label as scorers. Beyond that the playoffs are much shorter so small sample sizes dominate facts. If a guy has a cold streak two years in a row (and every scorer has cold streaks) he's "soft" and a regular season guy.

On the other end if a guy has a hot streak all of a sudden he's a playoff performer. Saad is a great example of this: starts his career with some bad playoffs, is instantly labeled a regular season player. Has two good playoffs in a row and now he's a big game guy. Let's look at Tampa because they had a big run. Stamkos had a bad playoffs. He shot a ton but the puck didn't find the twine=bad player. Tyler Johnson had an incredible playoffs. As good as Johnson is, no one in their right mind would take him over Stamkos. So why would anyone even for a picosecond consider Abby over Nyquist? The answer is Abby having one good playoffs and Nyquist having two bad ones. Which seems unbelievable to me.