"Gustav Nyquist is a skilled, fast, two-way player who will be a great addition to our club both on the ice and in the dressing room," said Kekalainen. "He is a talented playmaker with a versatile game who has been extremely durable throughout his career and we are very excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family."
The Halmstad, Sweden native set career highs in assists and points in 2018-19 with 22-38-60, 12 penalty minutes and was +1 in 81 games with Detroit and San Jose. The forward posted 16-33-49 in 62 outings with the Red Wings before collecting 6-5-11 in 19 contests with the Sharks following a trade on February 25. He added 1-10-11 in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff outings to help San Jose advance to the Western Conference Finals.
The 5-11, 184-pound forward collected 21-19-40 and 20 penalty minutes, while playing in all 82 games for the third time in his career in 2017-18. He notched a career-high 28 goals in his first full NHL season in 2013-14 before registering a career-high 14 power play goals a year later.
Nyquist was selected by Detroit in the fourth round, 121st overall, at the 2008 NHL Draft. He spent parts of four seasons with the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins and helped the club win the 2013 Calder Cup Championship before becoming a full-time NHL player during the 2013-14 season.
Nyquist has represented Sweden in numerous international tournaments, earning a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World Championships, a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2014 IIHF World Championships. He also registered 50-94-144 in 113 games at the University of Maine from 2008-11. He was named a Hobey Baker Award finalist as college's best player in both 2009-10 and 2010-11 and led the NCAA in assists and points in 2009-10 with 19-42-61 in 39 contests.
