Gustav Nyquist
This one might be interesting, but Gustav Nyquist seems like the right risk to take for Tom Fitzgerald. Gustav Nyquist was hurt for most of last season. He signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets a few years ago, and he was traded to the Minnesota Wild for the stretch run specifically. He ended up playing nine total games for the Wild, and he was pretty good.
Nyquist had five assists in six playoff games with the Wild. It’s not bad for a player who was a week or two from returning from injury. Now, he’s getting fully healthy in the offseason, and he is ready to impact his next team positively.
Just last season, he had 53 points. He had 18 goals for a decent Columbus Blue Jackets team that was a contender. They ended up missing the playoffs, but he had 13 points in the Jackets final 14 games. As the team was looking to make a run, he tried his darndest to get them the most wins possible.
Nyquist can sign a salary that looks like a bottom-six player, but he could eventually play himself with the top six. He played his final games with Sam Steel and Marcus Foligno. This is a similar situation he could face on the Devils third line. It would be a seamless transition for him to join the Devils.