NHL Trade Rumors: Why the Canucks Acquiring Rick Nash Would Be an Huge Gamble

As we near the trade deadline, rumours are swirling that the Vancouver Canucks are jumping back into the Rick Nash sweepstakes in a big way. 

The Canucks were connected with the Nash frenzy in Columbus when the story first broke, but then the talk died down once people realized that the Canucks didn't have the cap space to add Nash's $7,800,000 contract.

But things changed this weekend, as the Canucks placed Keith Ballard and his $4,200,000 salary on long term injured reserve, more options opened up.

Now NHL insiders, such as TSN's Bob McKenzie and Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, are reporting that the Canucks have jumped back into the conversation.

Also, it was reported late Sunday that the New York Rangers, considered the front-runner to pull off a trade for Nash, have pulled out due to the price.

According to Kypreos on the Canuck's pre-game show prior to playing Dallas on Sunday afternoon, Columbus would consider an offer of Cory Schneider and Cody Hodgson, along with a package of further draft picks and prospects.

Nash is a hugely talented 6'4", 220-pound power forward.

He has had international success with Team Canada at the World Juniors, World Championships and Winter Olympics. He is a threat to score 35-40 goals every year, and that is on a team where he pretty much was the sole offensive threat.

Imagine what he could do with other world-class talents on a contender. And as a right winger who shoots left, just imagine his goal totals if combined with the Sedins.

In short, he would be a major addition to any contending team, and in Vancouver's specific case, the power forward fans have been clamouring for since Todd Bertuzzi. 

But while this would be a doable trade for the Canucks, it would be a huge gamble.

First, the Canucks would be trading Hodgson, whose offensive skills have turned the Canucks into a team with three scoring lines.

With Nash in the fold, the Canucks would have two extremely stacked lines with the usual Sedin twins plus Alex Burrows, as well as a Ryan Kesler, Nash and David Booth second line.

But the third line would then be centred by either Manny Malhotra or Maxim Lapierre. And neither of those two have the offensive talents or playmaking ability of Hodgson. 

In this scenario, the third line would likely shift to being a more traditional shutdown line, with Malhotra centring Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen. The fourth line would then in turn be centred by Lapierre, and be more of a traditional energy line.

Right now the Canucks are rolling three scoring lines and using the fourth line almost exclusively for defensive zone face-offs at even strength, thereby freeing up the Sedin line and Kesler's line to focus on scoring. Acquiring Nash would mean that coach Alain Vigneault would be hard pressed to continue this tactic.

Essentially this would be a huge gamble that two stacked offensive lines can score more than the three scoring lines and unequal zone starts strategy that the Canucks have used to great success to date.

Second, this trade scenario also sees the best backup in the NHL leaving town. At best, that means that Luongo doesn't get as many games off down the stretch to refresh for the playoffs. At worst, it means the Canucks are out of options if Luongo stumbles in the playoffs.

I'm not going to debate Luongo's strength or weaknesses, that would be an article in and of itself. And if Luongo plays as well as he can, Schneider doesn't see the ice outside of practices in the playoffs anyways.

But this would be a huge all or nothing gamble at the position that most would identify as the biggest question mark for the Canucks going into the playoffs.

Third, this is trading the future captain of the Canucks in Hodgson, plus whatever prospects and draft picks are included in the deal with Columbus, and also the potential returns Schneider could have brought in another trade, for a win now mentality.

Fair enough, fans in Vancouver want a Stanley Cup after 40 years of being bridesmaids. The Canucks did come within 60 minutes of winning the Cup last spring, and this year's roster is already stronger than last year's squad even without the potential addition of Nash.

But with Nash making $7,800,000, the current team building strategy of having players take a hometown discount is out of the window. 

Don't expect upcoming free agents like Burrows or Edler to take a discount with Nash in the locker room. And it would be a slap in the face of the core players (Sedins, Kesler, Hamhuis, Bieksa, etc) that already took discounts and left millions on the table if the Canucks take this gamble and don't win the Stanley Cup, and the team is dismantled.

In short, this would be a huge all-or-nothing gamble to win this year by a team that could certainly stand to add a Team Canada power forward at the top of game. 

But do the Canucks really need to take this gamble? Do they need to improve that much to match up against other contenders?

I'm inclined to say no.

The Canucks need depth as a hedge against the inevitable injuries during a long playoff campaign, but they already have the players to contend for the Stanley Cup.