Detroit Red Wings analysis: Gustav Nyquist needs to embrace being a go-to guy

August is the quietest month in hockey, perfect for deeper looks at Detroit Red Wings players. Today’s focal point: Forward Gustav Nyquist.

Looking back: 12 goals, 36 assists, 48 points, 0 plus-minus rating in 76 games. Nyquist flirted with 30-goal seasons in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, but his production has declined the past two seasons. He did, on the flip side, produce a career-best 36 assists this past season, and his .63 points-per-game average was close to the .66 he put up in 2014-15. Power play production disappointed as Nyquist had just nine points despite averaging 2:49 minutes per game, third-highest on the team.

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Looking at money: Signed through 2018-19 with an annual average value of $4.75 million. Actual salary this coming season is $5.25 million, followed by $5.5 million in the last year of the contract.

Looking ahead: Consistency is something Nyquist, 27, needs to address. He got off to a great start last autumn on a line with Thomas Vanek and Darren Helm, but once Vanek got injured, Nyquist (and Helm) quieted. At the halfway point, Nyquist had not scored a goal in 21 games, and had just one goal his last 35 games. Of his 48 points, 30 came during the second half, 19 of them after the Wings had signaled defeat by being sellers at the trade deadline – and once he got to play on a line with Henrik Zetterberg.

If the Wings are to be competitive, it is tantamount that players such as Nyquist embrace being a go-to guy. Next season he will have the sixth-highest salary on the team. He averaged 17:26 in average time on ice in 2016-17, an increase of more than two minutes from the previous season. Nyquist does not play physical, but he’s smart, and he’s a good passer, and he has shown in the past he can score goals. He needs to develop better consistency, and he needs to find a way to be more productive especially given how big a part of the power play he is.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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