Gustav Nyquist happy to be back with Wild for a second stint

Getting moved to a different team didn’t surprise Gustav Nyquist.

“I knew something was coming,” he said.

But the timing, almost a week ahead of the NHL trade deadline, was earlier than he expected.

That’s because the Wild didn’t want to risk not being able to acquire Nyquist for a second time, so they added him Saturday from Nashville and had the veteran forward in action Sunday for the team’s slump-busting 1-0 win over Boston at Xcel Energy Center.

“Happy to be back here,” Nyquist said. “I had a great time here last time two years ago. Happy to be back with this group.”

Nyquist’s second term with the Wild is starting like his first.

The Wild traded for him in 2023 as they loaded up before the playoffs, with the team comfortably advancing as a top-three seed in the Central Division. This year, they are still jostling for positioning but have a nine-point buffer between them and the closest non-playoff team in the Western Conference. Nyquist, 35, cost the Wild a 2026 second-round draft pick, and the Predators retained half his contract.

“His versatility, the way he plays the game, the sense, he fits,” said President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin. “ … Sometimes deadline acquisitions, it depends on who you get. They can have a hard time getting acclimated, so I think it’s kind of a bit of a luxury that he’s been here before, knows the players, knows the area a little bit. That will help.”

Since they were at the roster limit and learned defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body) will be out week to week, joining forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek on the mend, the Wild needed to create two roster spots to add Nyquist and an extra defenseman in David Jiricek from the minors.

They sent forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren to the American Hockey League, decisions that also will help the team afford to activate Kaprizov off long-term injured reserve when he’s ready to return.

This is the first time Khusnutdinov has been assigned to Iowa, what Guerin described as an “unfortunate situation” that disappointed Khusnutdinov, who had only been with the Wild since the 2020 second-round draft pick arrived from Russia last year.

“It stinks for him,” Guerin said. “He’s been here all year. He’s played hard. He’s played well. This is not your regular demotion.”

Khusnutdinov had been a regular penalty killer, but the Wild are planning to work Nyquist into the scheme after already factoring him into the power play against the Bruins.

“He can play either wing,” coach John Hynes said. “He’s good on the power play, good on the penalty kill. He plays 5-on-6. There’s a lot of elements to his game that help.

“The hockey smarts, the skill, the experience that he has are certainly factors that played into us making the move to get him quickly.”

Although Nyquist’s previous stint with the Wild was limited to only nine games because of the shoulder injury he arrived with and the team was bounced from the first round by Dallas, Nyquist made an impact.

He had a goal and four assists in the regular season before chipping in another five assists in the playoffs.

“Hopefully I can do the same this time,” he said.