Why Joe Pavelski, Rich Nash Are at the Center of NHL Trade Rumors

The NHL's February 27th trade deadline is coming up and star forwards Joe Pavelski and Rick Nash are at the center of a swirl of potential hockey trades.

In particular, the San Jose Sharks are rumored to be interested in acquiring Nash, the Columbus Blue Jackets' franchise star, before the February 27th deadline.

To acquire Nash, the Sharks may need to give up star Joe Pavelski, who recently discussed the difficulty of playing under the strain of trade rumors.  

Nash is the top player on hockey's trading block and made a strong impression on the Sharks Tuesday, when he scored a goal and notched an assist in Columbus' 6-3 win.

He is also having a very strong year overall, with 42 points, 20 goals and 22 assists at this point in the season.  

The Sharks are in the midst of a bad streak and Tuesday's loss was their fourth straight.  But they are still 31-20 overall and fourth in the standings, so adding a dynamic scorer like Nash could make them a Stanley Cup favorite.

Columbus, meanwhile, is dead last in the Western Conference and needs to unload Nash for young blood and prospects to restart the franchise.  

So the trade seems to be a fit for both parties.  It would give Columbus a chance to begin a much-needed rebuilding process and reboot the Sharks' title chances by adding a top star to their first line.

Nonetheless, these deals are hard to put together.  That's particularly true here because Nash is so expensive and will require so much in return.  

As hockey fans wait with baited breath to see if the Sharks manage to pull off the trade of the year, we are left to think about what Joe Pavelski said:

"You never quite know who it's going to be."