Sharks acquire forward Nyquist from Red Wings

Few teams have added more high-end talent than the San Jose Sharks in the last year. The trend continued on Sunday, as they traded two draft picks to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Gustav Nyquist ahead of Monday’s NHL trade deadline.

Nyquist, 29, is currently second on the Red Wings in scoring, with 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, and needed to waive his no-trade clause to approve the deal. The Red Wings will reportedly retain 30 percent of Nyqvist’s salary, dropping his cap hit to $3.325 million.

“Gustav is a talented, versatile forward who plays with speed and a strong hockey sense,” said GM Doug Wilson. “His track record of strong play and character speak for themselves and we’re very excited to add him to our dressing room.”

Detroit will receive the lower of San Jose or Florida’s 2019 second round selections, along with San Jose’s third round selection in 2020. Should San Jose reach the 2019 Stanley Cup Final OR re-sign Nyquist, the third round selection in 2020 becomes San Jose’s second round selection.

The Sharks are right under the cap ceiling with $79,052,312 in committed salary. In the last year, Wilson has added defenseman Erik Karlsson and winger Evander Kane to the Sharks, who are second in the Pacific Division at 37-18-8 for 82 points.