Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist’s first NHL goal puck goes missing after storage unit mix-up
Detroit Red Wings prospect Gustav Nyquist has one career NHL goal in 20 games over the past two seasons. His lone tally was a memorable one, coming during a 7-2 rout over the Columbus Blue Jackets last March thanks to a dazzling spin-o-rama assist from the one and only Pavel Datsyuk.
Sadly, the only thing Nyquist currently has memorializing the milestone is the image of the play in his head and likely the photo to the right here. That's because the puck he's holding has disappeared, in a story that sounds like an episode of the reality show "Storage Wars".
Nyquist, 23 and considered one of the organization’s top prospects, played in 18 games and four playoff games last season with Detroit, finishing with that lone goal along with six assists. After the season, the Halmstad, Sweden, resident put many of his valuables from his Grand Rapids apartment into an area storage unit with teammates Landon Ferraro and Travis Ehrhardt. That included the puck, game sheet, clothes and some furniture.
When he returned in September, he learned the storage unit had been auctioned off in August through a misunderstanding over payment. Nyquist declined to go into details, but he said the buyer is unknown and he hopes for a settlement from the Alpine-based location.
Also packaged with the puck was a framed game sheet from his first NHL game in Nov. 2011 against the Minnesota Wild.
Nyquist has played only twice for the Red Wings this season, spending majority of his time leading the AHL's Grand Rapid Griffins with 55 points in 52 games. Given his production, he'll soon enough be able to score his second "first" NHL goal. Hopefully then he'll take the puck and lock it a safety deposit box, or at least find a pay upfront for a storage unit.
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy
NHL video from Yahoo! Sports:
Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Aging Roy Halladay a legend among peers
• Exiled Mark Mangino returns to college football
• VCU flusters Butler with its swarming defense
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes on weight-loss plan, but it's nothing crazy
