Nyquist uses delay to rehab, miss ‘least amount of time’
Gustav Nyquist felt the same way most NHL players do about the 2020-21 season.
Trapped in a weird, autumn offseason while the coronavirus pandemic continues, the veteran forward went into small-group workouts with his Blue Jackets teammates hoping a plan would materialize quickly for next season. That changed after stepping on the ice and feeling a familiar pain return in his left shoulder.
“It came back right away,” Nyquist said of an injury that has bothered him the past couple of years. “That’s when we kind of made the decision that something needs to be done with it.”
That “something” turned out to be surgery Tuesday at the Cleveland Clinic to repair a labral tear and remove a painful cyst. The procedure came with an estimated recovery time of five to six months, which was tough for Nyquist to swallow. He has missed only seven games in the past seven years, and not a single one last season, his first with the Blue Jackets.
“I’m trying to miss the least amount of time possible, so looking at all the options, I think now was the best time to do it,” said Nyquist, who signed with Columbus as a free agent in 2019. “I know everyone wants the season to start, but maybe personally ... you could push it back a little further.”
He isn’t entirely kidding about that, either. Sitting out is something that will eat at Nyquist as much as the injury, because he’s like most NHL players who are willing to grind through aches and pains on a regular basis.
“This was my first (surgery), knock on wood,” said Nyquist, who has three seasons left on his four-year contract. “I’ve been fortunate. I haven’t really missed any games at all due to injury during my career, so it’s a little bit disappointing, because that’s something I take a lot of pride in. Unfortunately, it
looks like I’ll miss a little bit of time now, but hopefully not too much.”
The pandemic and the league’s next plan to deal with it will largely determine how soon the NHL begins play again, so Nyquist will rehab while the Blue Jackets figure out how to replace him among their top-six forwards.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen doesn’t plan to alter his offseason strategy specifically to replace Nyquist, whose 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) were second-most on the team. That means there will be an opportunity for a group of forwards to earn a larger role.
Alexandre Texier has already gained valuable experience on the top line, playing left wing with that group during the 2020 postseason, while other options include a diverse assortment of forwards — including captain Nick Foligno, Mikhail Grigorenko, Emil Bemstrom and Eric Robinson.
Nyquist will be part of the mix too, eventually.
“I really like this group of guys and I feel like I couldn’t have come to a better place or found a better fit,” he said, reflecting on his first season as a Blue Jacket. “It’s been a great first year. It’s a young group of guys, too, who are only going to get better. That’s what’s really exciting about this team, so I’m looking forward to being out there again as soon as possible.” bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger