Nikita Gusev
Nikita Gusev | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nikita Andreyevich Gusev July 8, 1992 Moscow, Russia |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey forward |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Known for | KHL Golden Stick MVP (2018, 2024), Olympic gold (2018) and silver (2022) medalist |
Nikita Andreyevich Gusev (; born 8 July 1992), commonly known by the nickname "Goose", is a professional ice hockey forward from Russia. He is currently signed with HC Dynamo Moscow competing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Widely regarded as one of the premier talents in the KHL, Gusev captured the league’s Golden Stick award, recognizing the Most Valuable Player, in both 2018 and 2024. During the 2023–24 season, he established a new record for most points in a single KHL season by tallying 89 points (23 goals and 66 assists), surpassing the previous mark of 85 set by Sergei Mozyakin. Additionally, he was a key contributor to SKA Saint Petersburg’s triumph in securing the Gagarin Cup championship in 2017.
On the international stage, Gusev has been a prominent figure for Russia, earning a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and following that with a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
SKA Saint Petersburg
Gusev committed to a two-year contract extension with KHL powerhouse SKA Saint Petersburg on 14 July 2017.
During the 2018–19 campaign, which marked his final season with SKA, he achieved personal bests and league-leading statistics by accumulating 82 points, including an impressive 65 assists. In the playoffs, he contributed 19 points over 18 games before SKA was eliminated by HC CSKA Moscow in the conference finals for the second consecutive year. Across nine seasons in the KHL, Gusev stands tenth all-time with 332 points amassed in 391 games.
New Jersey Devils
On 21 June 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights obtained Gusev’s rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of compensation for selecting Jason Garrison during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, along with additional draft selections.
Gusev inked a one-year entry-level deal with Vegas on 14 April 2019 and joined them during their playoff run; however, he did not participate in any games.
Subsequently, on 29 July 2019, as a restricted free agent, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a third-round pick in 2020 and a second-round pick in 2021. Immediately following the trade, Gusev agreed to a two-year contract worth $9 million total, averaging $4.5 million annually. In the shortened 2019–20 season, he led New Jersey’s rebuilding roster with 31 assists and ranked second on the team with 44 points over 66 contests before play was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The delayed start of the 2020–21 season saw Gusev struggle offensively, registering just two goals and five points across 20 games. On 9 April 2021, both parties agreed to terminate his contract after he was placed on unconditional waivers by the Devils.
Florida Panthers
As a free agent shortly thereafter, Gusev signed a one-year contract valued at $1 million with the Florida Panthers on 11 April 2021.
Return to SKA
Ahead of the 2021 NHL season, Gusev accepted a Professional Tryout agreement to attend the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp beginning September 18, 2021. After being released from this tryout on October 5, without further NHL opportunities materializing, he returned to his former club SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL.
He delivered two strong offensive seasons with SKA before departing as a free agent following the conclusion of the 2022–23 campaign on April 30, 2023.
Dynamo Moscow
On July 18, 2023, Gusev agreed to terms on a one-year deal with HC Dynamo Moscow—his fifth team within the KHL—for the 2023–24 season. After an outstanding debut year with Dynamo Moscow, he secured an additional one-year contract extension on August 1, 2024.
International competition
Gusev has donned the Russian jersey across various age groups, including appearances at the World Junior and World Championships. He took part in the 2018 Winter Olympics as a member of the Olympic Athletes from Russia squad and was also selected for the Russian Olympic Committee team at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Regular season and postseason
2013–14 KHL seasonHC Yugra KHL 44||8||6||14||10 2014–15 KHL season HC Yugra KHL 55||21||16||37||12 2015–16 KHL season HC Yugra KHL 23||7||7||14||4 2015–16 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 33||13||22||35||10 15||5||9||14||0 2016–17 KHL season SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 57||24||47||71||8 18||7||16||23||2 2017–18 KHL season SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 54||22||40||62||2 15||7||5||12||2 2018–19 KHL season SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 62||17||65||82||10 18||9||10||19||0 2019–20 NHL seasonNew Jersey Devils NHL 66||13||31||44||12 2020–21 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 20||2||3||5||0 2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 11||2||3||5||2 2021–22 KHL season SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 31||10||25||35||4 16||7||9||16||12 2022–23 KHL season SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 37||23||26||49||6 13||5||7||12||0 2023–24 KHL seasonHC Dynamo Moscow KHL 68|||23|||66|||89|||10 9|||3|||7|||10|||2 2024-25 KHL season Dynamo Moscow KHL 68|||29|||40|||69|||12 17|||5|||6|||11|||8| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Belye Medvedi Moskva | MosJHL | 7 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Belye Medvedi Moskva | MosJHL | 24 | 30 | 33 | 63 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 48 | 17 | 40 | 57 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 38 | 22 | 37 | 59 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Krasnaya Armiya | MHL | 34 | 30 | 46 | 76 | 26 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | THK Tver | VHL | 15 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Amur Khabarovsk | KHL | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | |||||||
| KHL totals | 595 | 204 | 370 | 574 | 96 | 122 | 48 | 69 | 117 | 26 | ||||
| NHL totals | 97 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Russia | WJC | Template:Silver2 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Russia | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 4 | |
| 2018 | OAR | OG | Template:Gold1 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2018 | Russia | WC | 6th place | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Russia | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2022 | ROC | OG | Template:Silver2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Senior totals | 36 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 10 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| KHL | ||
| All-Star Game selections | 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 | |
| Golden Stick (Most Valuable Player) | 2018, 2024 | |
| Gagarin Cup title winner | 2017 | |
| 2018 | ||
External links
- 1992 births
- Amur Khabarovsk players
- HC CSKA Moscow players
- HC Dynamo Moscow players
- Florida Panthers players
- HC Yugra players
- Ice hockey people from Moscow
- Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- Krasnaya Armiya (MHL) players
- Living people
- Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics
- New Jersey Devils players
- Olympic gold medalists for Olympic Athletes from Russia
- 21st-century Russian sportsmen
- Olympic silver medalists for the Russian Olympic Committee athletes
- Olympic ice hockey players for Russia
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
- Russian ice hockey forwards
- SKA Saint Petersburg players
- Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks