Nyquist returns to the ice and delivers on young Blue Jackets team

For everything that went wrong during the Blue Jackets’ disappointing, pandemic-shortened 2021 season that served as the end of an era in Columbus, one of the underrated issues facing the team was the man that went missing.  

Veteran do-it-all forward forward Gustav Nyquist didn’t play because of shoulder surgery, taking one of the NHL’s most consistent players off the ice. 

Nyquist’s absence certainly wasn’t the only reason Columbus never got going last season, but it certainly didn’t help to have a leader who can make an equal impact at 5-on-5, on the power play and on the penalty kill on the shelf all season long. 

Brad Larsen pointed out throughout the recently completed season season that was an underrated storyline from the year prior, which meant the head coach was all the more excited to have Nyquist on his team for his first season as the man in charge. 

Video: STL@CBJ: Nyquist nets slick feed from Laine for lead

Not only did Nyquist make an impact on the ice, placing fourth on the team in scoring, the third-year CBJ winger slid easily into his role as a team leader with an “A” on his sweater for the first time in his NHL career. 

“I put a letter on him for a reason,” Larsen said. “And that’s (after) missing a year of hockey, if that gives you any indication what I think of him and what I think he can bring to this team. He has a lot of experience, but it’s not just because he has games played. It’s because of how he plays them. 

“I know his intangibles. I know he brings effort. I know he has the skill set and the desire and the passion and the competitiveness that we’re looking for. You’ve seen that. He’s been very consistent for us.” 

Ahh yes, that word again. If you look up consistency in an NHL-themed dictionary, Nyquist’s picture would be there. The missed 2021 season was an anomaly, the result of wear and tear that had accumulated on his shoulder during the first nine years of his NHL career with Detroit and San Jose, but the 82 games played by…