Columbus Blue Jackets Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon for Rick Nash –NHL Update
Seems like Rick Nash and New York Rangers wanted each other bad as days after the Columbus captain was reportedly in meetings with the Eastern Conference club, the Blue Jackets dealt their captain to the city that never sleeps in-exchange for a number of players and future draft picks.
The trade was made, finally, on Monday, July 23, 2012, after a long wait during the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season along with after the playoffs came to an end.
For Nash, defenseman Steven Delisle and a conditional third-round selection in 2013, New York willingly gave up forwards Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and defenseman Tim Erixon along with a first-round selection in the upcoming 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
"We're happy to have a five-time All-Star on our team and a 40-goal scorer and a guy that's only 28 years old," Rangers GM, Glen Sather, said. "He's one of the better goal scorers in the National Hockey League and he'll help us immensely. These things take a long time to get negotiated. It takes a long time for a team that's trading a player like this. I'm sure it was very difficult for (Jackets GM) Scott (Howson) to make the decision to trade him. I think it's a fair trade for both sides."
For over five months, Rick Nash had to fight with himself over which team he should be looking to make the transition to. Finally, New York seemed like the right fit, making them even strong with Brad Richards on the centre and Rick Nash leading the wing.
"There was a lot of limbo for sure," Nash said. "It was a tough time and a tough period of five months. But the thing now is it's over and I can look forward to next year."
Columbus was reportedly going after Chris Kreider in the trade for Rick Nash and wanted him included in the deal, but New York was not willing to give up the young sensation at any cost.
Philadelphia Flyers looked to be in the front running for Nash but have changed their focus more towards Nashville Predators’ captain, Shea Weber.
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