Gustav Nyquist can be eliminated from trade speculation prior to the March 3 NHL trade deadline, but not for a reason that helps him or the Blue Jackets .
Nyquist was ruled out for the remainder of the season Wednesday with a left shoulder injury that occurred a week ago during a 3-2 overtime victory in Edmonton . It's the same shoulder he had repaired in November 2020, but this injury will not require surgery.
It's another blow for the Blue Jackets.
"If you watch how I use him, he's in every situation for me," coach Brad Larsen said Friday . "He's kind of a stabilizer for me when I'm putting (forward) lines together. He's so consistent in what he gives, in effort and the pace of play. He can make plays, he's penalty-killing, second power play … he's a guy I've really leaned on, so we're going to miss him."
Nyquist, 33, is the latest lineup regular added to a mountain of significant injury losses in Columbus this season. His injury also subtracts a trade chip who could have been traded as a versatile "rental" forward without a contract beyond this season. Barring an unlikely trade scenario, Nyquist can head into unrestricted free agency this summer without the Blue Jackets getting compensation.
That's not a huge loss considering Nyquist's age, but he could have been dealt to a contending team to give him another shot at the Stanley Cup in exchange for a draft pick.
That's off the table now unless a contender sends the Blue Jackets a late-round pick with the hope Nyquist heals in time for a postseason return, similar to what happened with Columbus sending injured forward Riley Nash to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021 for a conditional seventh-round pick.
Nyquist missed the pandemic-shorted 2020-21 season (58 games) while recovering from shoulder surgery . He played all 82 games last year, finishing with 18 goals, 35 assists and 53 points after the Blue Jackets hung onto him through the deadline. Nyquist returned this season as an experienced leader for one of the NHL's youngest teams and finished with a scoring line of 10-12-22 in 48 games.
That leadership will be missed in the final 31 games and in the future if Nyquist signs elsewhere.
"He's got more of a voice than people think in the (locker) room, but his best asset is that he does it by example," Larsen said. "He doesn't have to say much because he's always prepared, he gets in great shape, his competitiveness is always there … all those attributes that you want in a player, he has them."
Two Blue Jackets players won't be spending the off week relaxing like most of their teammates.
Rookie defensemen Tim Berni and Marcus Bjork were assigned to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League on Wednesday to keep them playing and help the Jackets' top minor-league affiliate through a tough time. The injury situation in Columbus has thinned the Monsters' depth almost all season and injuries in Cleveland piled on top of it.
Adding Berni and Bjork back to the defensive mix will help in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday against the Chicago Wolves at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The top five teams in the AHL's North Division qualify for the postseason and the Monsters are sixth, five points behind Laval with three games-in-hand.
The Monsters will wear Cleveland Lumberjacks uniforms to honor the former IHL team by that name that played in Cleveland from 1992 to 2001.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist out for season
