Its going to happen.
Rick Nash was the superstar "home boy" in Ontario. Growing up in the Toronto area, he would have someday loved to return to his roots.
I know. Why will Columbus not sign Nash? I think there will be several reasons why.
Rick Nash has been stuck in Columbus and has only recently shown the stardom he once did (playing for London Knights). You can see it happening. He has not seen any improvements made to the the Blue Jackets.
Sergei Federov was traded away by Columbus to improve their club for the future. Does this mean they will just start all over again?
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Quite probably.
Though Nash has never fully lived up to his potential (aside from tying for the lead in scoring in 2004), he has shown signs of blooming with a big season last year. Much like Vincent Lecavalier and Joe Thornton, Nash just needed a few years of experience under his belt to turn into the player that will dominate the NHL.
So how is Toronto going to get him?
Nash will get tired of playing in Columbus and with free agency approaching, he will choose not to sign with Columbus. He will want to pick a team where he is more interested in playing.
Toronto could be the front-runner for his services.
The Maple Leafs will just have to jump at the chance to sign him and make necessary changes to require him from Columbus.
The bottom line? Rick Nash is a Canadian boy that would make a great captain for Toronto and would also be the player that they can also start building around.
Cliff Fletcher must start making those changes and be aggressive to signing this young superstar.
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about 1 month ago
If I had a dime for every time a Toronto writer, broadcaster or fan speculated that "Home grown superstar X" was coming to Toronto...
...well I'd have about 5,000 dimes, how much is that?
from about 1 month ago
Oh Spencer.... You don't get it man... You don't Realize man... Common man
from about 1 month ago
I wouldn't quit your day job
about 1 month ago
I think Columbus has done a lot. Brought in better D, re-signed Peca, got Umberger upon other movies. Columbus should post some more wins next year.
from about 1 month ago
Nash will end up in T.O.
about 1 month ago
I don't get it - is this a spoof piece? "With free agency approaching"... - he won't be a free agent until 2010-11. He's also the captain of the team and has stated on multiple occasions that he is sticking with Columbus.
Although Toronto made some great off-season moves... Jeff Finger... Hollweg. And with Jason Blake leading the charge! Ohhh doggie!
I didn't think they gave computers to cazy people
from about 1 month ago
free agency is approaching
about 1 month ago
Nate if you have nothing good or smart to say then don't say anything it's easier that way. I've heard Nash wants out as well and whats so dumb about going to Toronto who will be good soon and Nash would just accelerate this process. So please think before speaking.
from about 1 month ago
You've heard that Nash wants out?
I guess I forgot that in Canada anything goes in terms of trade rumors. I just think it's pointless to offer such reckless speculation with no backing of sources.
How's this for facts, this is a direct quote from Rick Nash regarding the Jackets strength.
"We shared the same feelings, that our team got a lot stronger, especially on the back end. … It's great that Hitchcock knows he's going to be here long term. I don't think there's a better coach at teaching in the league. We're lucky to have him."
Please tell me how that spells, "get me outa here". I take it you're one of those sensitive Leafs guys. I'm not bashing the Leafs - I'm just saying that there is no reason to speculate Nash is heading to Toronto.
from about 1 month ago
Nate, do you remember two years ago when all that was quoted of petr forseberg was, "I'm not leaving phillidelphia, I love it here, I don't want to leave"
Well, remember he got traded to the Predators.
Don't belive what NHL players say. He has to put on a nice face for the media.
from about 1 month ago
exactly Jeff
about 1 month ago
Steve, so you don't see T.O. getting Nash until 2010-11 or is their a chance something will get settled for next year?
from about 1 month ago
It will probably happen before his contract expires. He will leave Columbus... its just a matter when they will trade him. Depends what the Leafs offer
about 1 month ago
This is all sorts of crazy right here.
Rick Nash in Toronto. Wonders will never cease. He wants out of Columbus? He has a better chance winning in Columbus over the next 5-6 years than he will in Toronto. The Maple Leafs are in shambles and this type of hopeful blottering is pretty much right on course for any Toronto fan or media type.
Sorry guys...the Leafs had a better chance at Marian Hossa this summer...lol
from about 1 month ago
Alex... Thanks for the Read... Nash will be in T.O.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah Nash will be in Toronto....to visit family.
about 1 month ago
Alex you are much kinder than I am.
about 1 month ago
Leafs are not in shambles and yes there is a chance of Nash landing in Toronto and he did state he wanted a trade this summer, maybe his mind changed. It's not a crazy speculation and it is not unsupported. The Leafs are heading in the right direction of becoming good soon. You guys probably looked at Jeff Finger's stats and were like OOoo he's no good he didn't score 1000 points. The Leafs are building an identity a rough and tough one and all they need now is great scoring.
about 1 month ago
"maybe he changed his mind"
aka - i don't have anything to back my statement up.
about 1 month ago
"It's not a crazy speculation and it is not unsupported. "
Where is your support? The Toronto media does not count. They are worthless. If there was rumblings on the trade front for Nash, it would have been publicized in Columbus. As uncivilized as Toronto fans may consider Columbus to be, the media has taken the franchise to tasks various times in the last year. This would have been high-drama in C-Bus and it wouldnt have been kept under wraps. The guy was just made Captain of the team. There are so many holes in your supported speculation that most typical hockey fans would find it laughable. Any hockey fans that realize the current and near future state of the Leafs would find it even more hysterical. You want speculation. Cristinao Ronaldo is considering a jump to the MLS for stint with Toronto FC. There is your unsupported speculation.
"The Leafs are heading in the right direction of becoming good soon. "
They are kind of like Notre Dame Football...They have been returning to glory for about the last 10 years.
Speculation is one thing, but it will take a lot more than Toronto is willing to offer when Nash's contract is up in 2011. Did you Toronto fans ever consider the possibility of how much a pain in the arse it is for hometown players to come back to Toronto? It is like asking to become a martyr...it is a terrible idea.
about 1 month ago
maybe we can offer columbus our '09 first pick for rick nash. they've got to know it'll be a good one. after the HUGE announcement of a free exhibition game today (?!!!!) maybe MLSE is turning over a new leaf.
ha! no pun intended.
from about 1 month ago
Bad idea Adrian, that first round pick of our next year is almost guarunteed to be a franchise player. There is unbelievable depth in this upcomming draft.
about 1 month ago
What about Antoine Vermette. The Sens will have trouble signing him. He can score goals, kill penalties and was often the one good point of the sens season.
from about 1 month ago
Not too bad of an idea, but it all depends on what we give up.
about 1 month ago
Uhhhh.... "leafs" through rumor pages... what obscure thing did you pick this off of?
I can't blame Nash if this is true though... I mean who would be happy being the poster boy of a franchise, being the new captain, having a coach who coached the Canadian World Championship team you were on and he compliments your huge frame and power forward playing style while turning you into a solid two-way player, having a team with huge space under the cap so when in two season you become a UFA they can pay you as much as you want, playing on a team that brought in three 20 or more goal scorers and three huge defenseman and has two young superstars scratching at the line-up next season, and thus putting together a much better team... sounds like a terrible situation for any player to be in... I would want out as soon as possible too... especially to Toronto... I mean Jeff Finger was enough for me but then RYAN HOLLWEG!? Stop you're giving me a chubby...
I think I'd be concentrating on getting Mats back then winning the Tavares race and build your team around him...
about 1 month ago
sorry lee - i was being sarcastic. leafs trading away draft picks, you know the deal.
about 1 month ago
Hahahaha, Nash going to Toronto, hahahhah.
What's even funnier is that people think the leafs are going the right direction, hahahahahah, too funny
from about 1 month ago
It's more likely than any good french-canadian player coming 'home' to play in montreal lol
Remember how Briere turned down their huge offer last year for less money elsewhere? Now that was too funny.
from about 1 month ago
Go to your speak somewhere else
about 1 month ago
I really don't think is possible. Why would Columbus do the trade? Nash is really all they have. They cannot make this trade if they want to keep there franchise...
from about 1 month ago
Good point Greg... they mite trade him for a leaf draft or some key players... Just depends on what they are willing to offer...
from about 1 month ago
What they're willing to offer is something I wouldn't be willing to trade for.
about 1 month ago
The question is whether the leafs will make it happen sooner or later?
about 1 month ago
Will it happen for next season Steve do you think?
from about 1 month ago
20% chance for next year... the following year I would say the leafs will get him. which is good. this year the draft is strong. next year there is not so high expectations.
about 1 month ago
This was a funny piece. Should have been posted in the humor section. Toronto must be despirate to throw out these rumors and Steve must be bored. Every bit of this is wild speculation on the part of a Toronto fan that sees his team in the bottom of the standings for the forseeable future.
If there was any truth that Nash had asked for a trade, the Columbus reporters would have been all over it. Nash is the type of guy that only a few hours after coming out of throat surgery was texting the reports to let them know he was ok because the fans wanted to know. He like virtually any other player that has been a Jacket loves Columbus.
What was the real purpose of this article Steve? Got a bet with the other writers that you can create a column that will get more responses than theirs? Talk about hack journalism.
from about 1 month ago
Wow.... taking it a little too serious... eh Andy?
about 1 month ago
Jeff...
Toronto has been rebuilding since 2002 and have changed uppoer management and coaching about every other year. They are a joke. More of a joke than an expansion team that is building from scratch. Comparing Detroit and Toronto is ridiculous. The rebuilding in Detroit was completed with a massive amount of longetivity in the front office and an unbelievable scouting staff. Toronto has neither of these...so Toronto = EPIC "Rebuilding" FAIL. Toronto is the master of short-term fixes and overpriced free agents in order to make a splash every offseason, but the results of these splashes have been pathetic.
I think that Michael has a pretty good idea of what he is talking about. I guess he should have qualified the playoff statement, as making the playoffs in the East (sorry Eastern Conference fandom) is the equivalent of being the "world's 8 tallest midgets."
from about 1 month ago
you guys stop fighting!
about 1 month ago
Jeff, Rick Nash has never said he has wanted out in his life. Either you heard it while talking to some other leaf's fans or you were just high on maple syrup and imagined it. If you can prove he did, good for you, but I can guarentee that he did not ever ask out of Columbus. I would like some proof.
about 1 month ago
Just a bitter Leafs fan upset that no one wants to play in Toronto so he has to start false rumors that he can't back up except for saying that he heard it from a friend of a friend that overheard it from a drunk fan wishing that the leafs had more scoring. Put your writing skills where your mouth is and show your source. Or it will show they are where your head is which is up your ass.
Nothing at all against Toronto, this is just completely absurd though.
about 1 month ago
Unlike many of the others on here, I won't insult you when disagreeing with your article. The whole purpose of this site is to have differing opinions, and often they'll be wrong.
However, with the state of the Jackets right now, a trade of Nash without another superstar (or, more likely two) on the team to replace him, Nationwide arena will be surrounded by fans in Owls and Chill jersey holsing pitchforks and torches ready to introduce Scott Howson to the bottom of the Scioto.
from about 1 month ago
Well put... and I'm glad you get bleacher report. Its to start discussion and talk possibilities. I love to get heated arguments between people and have the get passionate about our Leafs... So its ok if they insult me... If they have fun Then its all good. Thanks for the read Chris. You the man!
about 1 month ago
no
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