NHL Trade Rumors: Rick Nash Would Make Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Favorites

The Vancouver Canucks are a Stanley Cup contender as currently constructed, but they have the opportunity to become the Miami Heat of the NHL.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are dangling forward Rick Nash to the largest bidder and the Canucks are one of the teams interested according to ESPN’s Alvin Chang.

The big news to set this all up is that Keith Ballard is being placed on the long-term injured reserve list and his $4.2 million is off the books. It’s a clear sign the team plans on using this money to improve the team before Monday’s 3:00 p.m. trade deadline.

There is no doubt they could use another forward to add some much needed depth for the grueling postseason schedule. Chang reports that the Canucks are one of the few teams on Nash’s list of teams he’s willing to accept a trade to and it’s pretty easy to understand why. Vancouver is in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Canucks (87) have over double the amount of points Columbus currently has (43).

Sure the Canucks aren’t the only team looking to snag Nash, but as the deadline inches closer more teams are backing out. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that the New York Rangers are officially out of the running:

"

#SNtrade. Going into Sunday nite, its sounding like #Rangers have backed out on the Nash sweepstakes. #Bluejackets demands remain too rich.

— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) February 26, 2012"

The Toronto Maple Leafs have more pressing needs at goalie and teams like the Philadelphia Flyers and the San Jose Sharks have only shown lukewarm interest.

Nash, 27, may only have 20 goals and 22 assists in what has been considered a down year for the two-time 40-goal scorer, but he is still a very productive player and can put Vancouver over the top.

Right now the team ranks third in goals per game (3.1), sixth in goals against (2.3) and has the second best power play percentage (21.6). They can potentially win the title without Nash. That’s what happens when you employ the Sedin twins.  

But as the Boston Bruins showed us last year, there still is room for improvement. The window to win the Stanley Cup is only open for so long, now is the time to capture it.

The last thing fans want is to be thinking about what could have been after another painful playoff defeat without Nash.

Pull the trigger, Vancouver.