[Trade] Penguins trade Nick Bjugstad to Wild for conditional 2021 7th-round pick

[mll]

1 hour ago, N7Nucks said:

Stop gap until Eriksson Ek can take over top 6 center minutes full time. Or at least a safety blanket if he can't do it next season. Kinda weird Pittsburgh didn't get a little more for him. Given they also retained some cap. Nature of a cap dump though I guess. Good value trade for Minnie.

 

Bjugstad is brought in to play C4 or maybe C3.  He's not playing ahead of Eriksson Ek.  Koivu is not coming back and he was their C4.  They probably don't want to bring back Galchenyuk who was their C3 although he's not a centre.  They have Nico Sturm for one spot and the other one was open.  

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by mll

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Pretty good article detailing Bjugstad’s decline in Florida, from being one of their “core” young players, to having basically “overstayed his welcome,” and becoming trade bait:

 

Quote

Yes, he did have a great year in his first 82-game season with career highs in assists (30) and points (49). But, it’s what his play style and work ethic developed into, which presents the same issue that many have with him today.
To quickly assess the 2017-18 campaign, where yes, even though the numbers were there, that still wasn’t the way the Panthers expected Bjugstad to play.

Unlike previous years, Big Nick played a good portion of the season on a line with superstar Aleksander Barkov and Evgeni Dadonov.

Those two did the majority of the work, something that is referred to as the ‘grit’ part of the game. Nick (at times) went through the motions, waiting for his teammates to set him up.

While I can go on forever on how Bjugstad put up such magnificent numbers that year, it’s time to get to the current season.

Heading into this season, the pressure was on more than ever for the now 26-year-old. He was making the big bucks and needed to show that the previous year wasn’t a fluke, while also showing that he is still a talented, proven player.

He started on a line once again with Barkov and Dadonov to start the year, almost bound for success. So far, this has not been the case.

Even though he suffered through some injury trouble, the numbers have been anything but there for Bjugstad.

In 32 games, he has 5 goals and 12 points, good for a cheap fourth line player, but for someone being paid the big bucks to play in the top-six for the Cats, this is clearly disappointing.

Plus, his overall play has not improved, at all. The time has come, it’s time for Big Nick to go and get a change of scenery. More importantly, though, it’s time to transition into why he just isn’t a good fit for this team.

For starters, Bjugstad is not what he used to be when it comes to using his body. In the past, he would protect the puck, skate circles around defenders, and end up with countless amounts of goals by using his size.

He would throw down defenders that were in his way and would always find a way to get open. After a few years of success, he suddenly abandoned this technique.

Nowadays, instead of having the will to win and grit he once had, he sits back and plays like a passenger, leaving everyone else to do the work for him.

Possibly, it may have to do with the fact that the NHL is all about speed instead of using the body, something the Los Angeles Kings are used to hearing, but I think it’s more than that when it comes to Bjugstad.

Additionally, Nick just doesn’t seem to fit into the culture the Panthers are trying to build. I know that sounds a bit vague but it’s true if you hear me out.

Now, what the Panthers established when they shipped out Gerard Gallant is that they wanted to develop a fast, counter-attacking team. This has come to fruition when it comes to the speedy skaters that consist of Florida’s top-six.

When it comes to Nick, he simply doesn’t fall into that category. He’s developed into a slow, sluggish player that takes up cap space with his barley mediocre play.

If anything, the Panthers waste a spot in their lineup with this ineffective forward that doesn’t quite fit into what the organization thinks is the best way to create a winning atmosphere.[/quote]

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/therattrick.com/2019/01/23/florida-panthers-nick-bjugstad-overstayed-welcome/amp/
 

His decline only continued with the Pens, eventually becoming a cap dump of the level that Pittsburgh needed to retain 50% of his deal, just to find a way to give him away for free (or a conditional “bag of pucks,” and only if he makes some GP and PTS targets that look rather unlikely, given his career trajectory).

 

Hopefully going home to Minny does something to jumpstart his career. Staying healthy would help too. But Bjugstad is not the same player that many Canucks fans were pining for years ago.

Edited September 12, 2020 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME
I dunno why the quote formatting is so horrible. Sorry, tried to fix but it’s being finicky

[oldnews]

not sure why this remains a mystery to so many people here.

 

He had 9 goals in 32 games for Pittsburgh last year.  Was still a good, productive player - had 82 hits in those games, good underlying numbers...

Nothing wrong with his "career"....aside from.....

 

But played only 13 games this year - had a herniated disc - and surgery on his back.

So he's a question mark moving forward - as was Edler when he had similar surgery and it looked like he may never be the same player again.

 

What kind of market do people expect under those circumstances, combined with a cap stall (and thus a real buyer's market)?

 

Probably going to see even more parity in the NHL in the near future with the higher end teams forced to dump assets.

 

Not a bad risk for Guerin to take imo.  One year, half cap.  Particularly after Minny went on a binge dumping the size out of their forward group....(Neidereitter, Coyle)....

Edited September 12, 2020 by oldnews

[JM_]

54 minutes ago, mll said:

Lafferty was not even an 800K cap hit - sounds like he could be playing C3 per the article.  It keeps them below what they would have spent keeping Bjugstad as C3.  McCann was 1.25M but could earn more in arbitration.

 

but really, thats your 3C? thats pretty thin.

 

Sutter (if health) at 50% retained would be a solid addition to a few teams. 

[Squamfan]

canucks the canucks trade sutter and lui to ottawa for a 7th round pick?

[mll]

Bjugstad will wear number 27 per the Wild.  That was Galchenyuk's number so it looks like the Wild are probably not bringing him back.

 

[PetterssonOrPeterson]

The slow Wild just got slower.

 

 

[MoneypuckOverlord]

lol.

 

I remember Mike Gillis targeting either Bjustad or Gudbranson for Luongo.  it's kinda hilarous how both these guys really turned into nothing.  The outcome was we settling for none of them, as Dale Tallon and Gillis was only able to agree on Jacob Markstrom and how he held the lowest value out of all the guys Mike Gillis was targeting turns out 7 years later Markstrom is by far the best player out of the 3.  Gillis the genius. 

[Ilya Mikheyev]

Quote

 

“Nick definitely has something to prove,” Guerin said. “He’s motivated. He’s in the last year of his deal. Bringing a guy home, there is some risk involved in that, but I’m confident that Nick’s going to be a professional. This is not a homecoming for him by any stretch. He’s coming here to play for the Minnesota Wild and to help us win. And that’s what I expect and I know that’s what I’m going to get.”

 

Bjugstad, acquired from the Penguins from the Florida Panthers in 2018-19, was limited to 13 games last season. He began the season with a sports hernia that required core surgery and then underwent a microdiscectomy on his back at the Mayo Clinic in May.

 

It’s the same surgery that the Wild’s Zach Parise had in 2017, and he has made a full recovery. Bjugstad says the surgery wasn’t invasive, and he’s healthy and hungry as he enters a contract year.

 

From Russo