Rick Nash Trade Rumors: Blue Jackets Should Jump on Deal for Cory Schneider

With the Columbus Blue Jackets nine points worse than the next closest competitor, there is no question that they will be sellers at the trade deadline. One possible deal involving franchise winger Rick Nash is for Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider, and it's a trade Columbus should be all over.

According to Dean Recksiedler of News1130 in Vancouver, the Blue Jackets might be able to land Schneider, forward Mason Raymond and a first-round pick in exchange for Columbus' all-time leading goal and point scorer. It may be tough for the Blue Jackets to part ways with their best player, but tough decisions have to be made in a rebuild.

Nash has scored over 30 goals on six occasions and he is one of preeminent power forwards in the league, but his $7.8 million cap hit through the 2017-18 season is going to hinder what Columbus needs to do in order to ultimately get better. With that in mind, if there a team that is willing to give a good return, then trading him makes sense.

While Nash is a great player, he has only once broke 70 points in a season, so his cap hit is disproportionate to his output. If Columbus can get a package of productive players that make less money, then it would really help it in the long run.

Both Schneider and Raymond are restricted free agents following this season, but their collective salary will be far less than Nash's. Since winning the Rookie of the Year Award a few years ago, Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason has fallen off considerably, so acquiring an up-and-coming star like Schneider could do wonders.

Schneider has been excellent this season with a 12-5 record, 2.26 goals against average and .928 save percentage. The Canucks even turned to Schneider during last season's playoffs as starter Roberto Luongo was struggling, but an injury prevented him from gaining a stranglehold on the starting job.

Schneider is probably the better goalie than Luongo at this point, but the Canucks are so heavily invested in Luongo that he remains the starter. Raymond obviously can't compare to Nash, but he potted 25 goals two seasons ago and still has potential to improve at 26 years of age. Add a first-round pick to the equation and the deal makes sense for Columbus.

The Canucks would have to find a way to clear out some cap space in order to make the deal, but it works from their perspective as well. Schneider is going to be excellent, but having two top goalies does them no good right now, plus they may not have the money to re-sign Raymond in the offseason.

Vancouver is very close to being a Stanley Cup-winning team, but there seems to be one piece missing. Nash may very well be that missing piece as he could likely play on a line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin and put up insane numbers.

It's obviously only a rumor so there is no guarantee that any such offer is even on the table, but if it is, then it's a deal that would help both teams now and in the future.