Nyquist, 36, has had a tough start to his opportunity with the Jets. Through 20 games, he has yet to score a goal and has recorded six assists, two penalty minutes, and a minus-1 rating.
The Swedish forward will join Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov on the second line at right wing. It’s an interesting decision by head coach Scott Arniel to put Nyquist into the top six while keeping Gabriel Vilardi on the third line.
The Jets signed Nyquist to a one-year, $3.25M contract on July 1.
Nyquist is unquestionably a veteran presence, with 883 NHL games across six different clubs and 537 career points (209G, 328A). However, this season he has noticeably regressed in terms of speed and overall impact, and it’s been difficult to point out any positives in his game so far.
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. CST.