Where could Columbus Blue Jackets' Captain Rick Nash be headed this offseason -NHL Special
Rick Nash was the one player working the rumour mill prior to the National Hockey League (NHL) February 27th trade deadline, but luckily for the Columbus Blue Jackets, they managed to keep their captain until the 2011-2012 regular season came
to an end.
The trade deadline was practically revolving around whether Rick Nash would be traded by Columbus, at first it was certainly surprising that the team and the player likewise would be separated from each other, but gradually, it became logical.
Columbus went through a major facelift during the 2011 offseason after a horrendous season. By acquiring some big name players like former Philadelphia Flyers top notch forward, Jeff Carter, and one of the league’s best defenseman, James Wisniewski, Blue
Jackets were headed in the right direction.
Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way at all for the struggling Western Conference club. Carter was not able to adjust with Columbus, thus resulting in a midseason trade to the Los Angeles Kings, where he was reunited with a number of players, and
now most recently, the face of the Blue Jackets organisation pressurising for a trade.
“I was informed by management that there was a rebuild, a reshape, of the team, and I personally felt I could be a huge part of that, toward bringing assets in,” Nash said during a press conference. “I think that was in my view that was the best thing for
the team, the organization, and personally for my career.”
Now, it has been learnt that not only is Nash ready to be traded during the offseason but Columbus, in another move to change the team around, is planning out how and where they will execute another major transaction.
“That’s something we’ll cross when it comes. But as of right now, I’ll wear this jersey with pride like I always have,” Nash added when asked when Columbus would trade him.
Currently, Rick Nash is in his second year of a huge eight-year contract with Columbus, worth an enormous $62.4 million amount, a deal which would be hard for any team to digest when negotiating to acquire the player.
Wanting the player is one thing, but having to free up nearly $7.8 million annually for the player is another aspect which most teams around the league would cough in shock upon hearing it.
There are a few teams around the league like Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals that have basically no salary cap space left, which would be easy to rule them out. But, when talking about the Flyers organisation,
anything is possible like what we saw during the previous offseason.
Flyers moved out Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, some of their top forwards, in order to grab Phoenix Coyotes’ top goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov. So basically, ruling Philadelphia out of the scene would be a mistake if they are not able to go deep in the playoffs
this time.
Two Canadian teams, Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators, have above $12 million on their hands and could be surprising players when it comes to acquiring Nash while Dallas Stars, New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche also have a lot of money to spend.
The end question is which team will be willing to give Rick Nash that much money every year in order to build up and out of them, which team could possibly be better for the veteran player’s career?
Another surprising aspect is with all that free salary cap space, what moves could Columbus be involved it, making this upcoming offseason even more exciting to follow.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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