Rick Nash Trade Rumors: New York Rangers Are Best Fit for Coveted Winger

There are no shortage of teams hoping to acquire Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but no team is a better fit than the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. The coveted goal scorer would thrive if given a chance to play alongside Brad Richards.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the Rangers have talked with the Blue Jackets, but no deal is imminent at this time. However, there are some names being floated out there:

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The Post had been told the opening asking price for the 6-4, 220-pounder who has spent his entire career with the Blue Jackets following his first overall selection in the 2002 Entry Draft is in excess of the package speculated to be Brandon Dubinsky, Boston College can’t-miss prospect Chris Kreider, and a first-round draft choice.

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Since there are so many teams involved in the hunt, New York will likely have to boost that offer to include at least one other impact piece before Columbus considers biting, but it's a good start.

The Blue Jackets need to begin a complete rebuild, as they sit at the bottom of the NHL by 10 points. That's truly astonishing. It's tough to be that bad in a low-scoring sport like hockey, where a lucky bounce can change an entire game.

It shows that Columbus needs a complete overhaul as soon as possible, and moving Nash's $7.8 million cap hit would be a major step in the right direction.

Knowing that, the Rangers should be making a strong push to acquire the Canadian star. If there's one thing they lack it's scoring depth up front. That's a problem Nash would immediately solve upon arriving to Madison Square Garden.

He's scored at least 27 goals in each of the past seven seasons and is on pace to come close to that mark once again. That's all while playing on a team without many other viable threats up front, so defenses were keying in to stop him and still couldn't do it.

If you put Nash on a line with Richards or Marian Gaborik to open up space, he would become virtually unstoppable. It's the type of addition that would be the difference between a Stanley Cup run and falling short of the team's ultimate goal.

Chances to acquire a player with as much talent as Nash are few and far between, so the Rangers need to do everything within their power to make sure it doesn't pass them by.