NHL Trade Rumors: Trading for Rick Nash Makes No Sense for Predators

The Nashville Predators find themselves in an interesting position as the trade deadline approaches.

On one hand, they should be looking to improve their team. And, not only for this season, but to keep elite defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter in town this offseason.

On the other hand, if they truly are in the Rick Nash sweepstakes as has been rumored, his huge cap hit moving forward would make it more difficult to retain the two, or at the very least, alter their negotiations.

Having a player on the roster with a $7.8 million cap hit will do that.

Choices, so many choices. We get our Nash to Nashville rumor from Bruce Garrioch via Twitter:

"

Keep an eye on the Nashville Predators today. They are hungry to make a deal. As I said before they even called CBJ about Nash. #NHL

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) February 27, 2012"

Nash would certainly make a big splash for the Predators, though they might be better served looking to make improvements on a smaller scale. Nash would cost a bevy of young talent and would be a huge salary cap hit, something this team doesn't need to sustain to remain competitive.

The name "Rick Nash" has recently caused fans to jump for joy and to try to justify why paying a huge cost for him would be worthwhile, but Nashville has a strong team as constructed—they are fourth in the Western Conference with 79 points—and Nash could actually hamper their long-term plans, i.e. retaining both Weber and Suter.

I wouldn't expect this trade to happen because there are too many questions.

Why would the Columbus Blue Jackets trade Nash to a rival?

Would Nash waive his no-trade clause for the Preds?

But, if Nashville is eager to get this done, I think that desire is misplaced.

Let someone else overpay for Nash. The Predators' best bet is to find a smaller, more affordable trade that will indicate they are constantly trying to improve their team while not tying up much-needed cap space this offseason.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are more entertaining than the Slam Dunk Contest.