Florida Panthers’ signing of Nikita Gusev could be best pickup of Trade Deadline

The Florida Panthers bringing in Nikita Gusev has the potential to be one of, if not the most impactful moves of the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.

Just a day prior to the Trade Deadline, the Florida Panthers announced the signing of Nikita Gusev to a one-year, $1 million deal. This move didn’t garner much discussion from media, nor should have it. The 28-year-old Russian forward struggled with the New Jersey Devils this season, posting just two goals and five points in 20 games. His poor performance this season led to being healthy scratched numerous times, and eventually resulted in his contract being terminated.

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Despite his struggles however, this is a player who in his rookie year just one season prior finished second in team scoring with 44 points (13 G, 31 A) in 66 games. When he was originally signed by the Devils, many expected him to come over and have success similar to Artemi Panarin, given that both players had illustrious KHL careers before heading overseas. During the 2018-19 season, his last in the KHL, Gusev led St. Petersburg SKA with 82 points in 62 games. His closest teammate points wise was Alexander Barabanov, who had just 46.

Clearly, the skill level is not an issue with Gusev. It appears that his issue has been adjusting to the NHL game while playing for a struggling team, as well as limited ice time. During his first season with the Devils he averaged just 14:42 minutes per game, and an even lower 13:32 during this year’s campaign.

Florida Panthers opportunity could be last-chance saloon for Nikita Gusev

Some of that is due to his struggles, particularly in the defensive end, but considering he was signed to bring offense, he was never truly given the opportunity he needed to put up big totals.

This new deal with the Panthers is likely Gusev’s last chance to prove himself in the NHL and will play a big role in determining whether he gets another shot next season. Thankfully, he couldn’t have asked for a much better situation than he is in right now with the Panthers. Both Head Coach Joel Quenneville and General Manager Bill Zito said when they brought him in they were going to give him an opportunity in their top six, and that has proven true so far.

While he has just three points (0 G, 3 A) in seven games with a -1 rating, Gusev is averaging 17:57 minutes of total ice time – his highest total in his NHL career so far – and he has been seeing some top-line action as well as getting some time on the power play.

It is also worth noting that this pickup is very beneficial to the team as well as the player, given the fact that Carter Verhaeghe, who has 35 points (17 G, 18 A) in 42 games, is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. They are now relying on Gusev to help replace some of that production.

Great Opportunity

The bottom line here is that this is a fantastic opportunity for Gusev. He is in a much better position to put up offense than he was with the Devils, going from a team who currently ranks 27th in goals scored to a team who is 11th in that same category.

If Nikita Gusev isn’t able to turn his season around, it could very well be the last we see of him in the NHL. Given the situation he is being placed in with the Florida Panthers, however, his numbers should see a significant bump in a positive direction.