Nyquist and the New York Rangers plus more in the Craig Custance mailbag
Craig Custance of The Athletic: Opening up the question and answer session includes the latest on Gustav Nyquist. The Detroit Red Wings forward shopped around for the last week has not been traded yet. Supposedly, he did not waive his NTC once already. However, no one is sure of that. Either way, there exists a market for the playmaking winger. The question lies will it be enough of one to garner a good return.
If Detroit does not receive that first-round pick or a good enough offer, extending Nyquist remains a possibility. What would it take? Could Nyquist garner a $5-6 million AAV next year? It may happen.
Among other teams, Florida could find a new home for Mike Hoffman as interest is there. Wayne Simmonds (maybe Tampa Bay?) seems to be a question of when not if. Furthermore, there is one other name to note among the New York Rangers.
That name is Chris Kreider. Besides Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes, Kreider generates or would generate the most buzz. His combination of size, shot, and goal scoring would help teams immediately. The return would have to be more than the other New York Rangers forwards. This is because there is term involved and an increase in talent level.
Consequently, if he were traded, the Rangers might gain a first, a prospect, and more.
LeBrun pondering why teams should remember Washington
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: Again and again, the question gets asked. Does a team need to make that big splash at the trade deadline?
Remember last year when Washington only added Michal Kempny. That resulted in a nice consolidation of their defense and Washington won the Stanley Cup. Maybe that does not happen again. However, it remains something to be aware of.
The trade deadline is overstated. Media drives the hype bus to overdrive in these final days as Monday approaches. It is the nature of the beast.
Washington showed us that sometimes less is more. Which team makes that subtle move that supplements all the planning and drafting of the years before? Finally, teams will be okay if they don’t make “the move” for the “final piece of the puzzle”.