Report: Rick Nash Trade Talks Have Not Begun, San Jose Sharks No. 2 on List

The anticipation of many teams hoping to land the coveted Rick Nash during this offseason's trade talks may have to subside for awhile.  

According to The Fourth Period, the Columbus Blue Jackets reportedly have not begun any trade discussions with teams, although they have fielded several calls from teams that have not been put on Nash's list of teams he would accept a trade to.

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"Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson told TFP that he has not yet had any formal discussions with any teams about Nash and even indicated that a deal might not be made.

'We might not even trade him,' Howson half-jokingly admitted.

The consensus around the NHL, though, is that a trade is inevitable and a deal could be reached closer to the June 22 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh."

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The Columbus Dispatch has released the rankings of the teams they feel are most likely to trade for Nash. The Rangers are the leaders for now.

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"Our highly unofficial Nash trade destinations rankings: 1. New York Rangers, 2. San Jose Sharks, 3. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4. Boston Bruins, 5. Carolina Hurricanes, 6. Washington Capitals. To be clear: the Jackets aren't dead-set on getting back a goalie in a trade involving Nash."

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It is also interesting to hear that the Blue Jackets may not prefer a goalie added to a package in return for Nash, although that would be foolish on their part. The goalie scenario in a possible trade should help us differentiate which teams can be taken seriously in trade discussions for Nash and which teams cannot.

The top two teams, the Rangers and Sharks, are considered the favorites to land Nash as of right now. Along with prospects, New York has Martin Biron as their back-up goalie. That pretty much makes it clear that if Nash was to be traded to the Rangers, it would be without a goalie in return to Columbus.

San Jose definitely has the better offer of goalies of the two teams. Virtually every goalie in their system would be available in a trade for Nash, including Antti Niemi and Thomas Greiss.  Also, the team has several promising goalies in their system, such as Alex Stalock, Harri Sateri and Tyson Sexsmith.

If the Blue Jackets are looking to shore up their weary goalie situation, it would be through the Sharks.

The feeling is that the Rick Nash trade discussions will get underway as soon as the playoffs end, which could be any day now.  

Columbus is set to be a busy team, and their list of demands could get longer the more teams come calling for Nash's services.

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