NHL Trade Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes Smart to Drop out of Rick Nash Sweepstakes

The Carolina Hurricanes have ended their pursuit of Columbus Blue Jackets left winger Rick Nash, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.

"

Carolina Hurricanes are no longer persuing Rick Nash. Cost way too high. CBJ believed to be after Jeff Skinner. Non-starter.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 5, 2012"

This is a smart move by the Hurricanes, as Nash isn't worth the price the Blue Jackets are demanding. Columbus supposedly wants a few elite young players, as well as at least one high draft pick in return for Nash (h/t Rusty Miller, The Associated Press via USA Today).

While Nash is one of the best offensive players of the last few years, he's not worth quite that much, especially for a team like Carolina, who finished last in the Southeast division and will need all the young talent they can get.

Nash is still an electrifying player, but his production has dipped each of the last three seasons. Despite playing in 82 games last year—the most of his career—Nash's 30 goals were his lowest total since 2006-07. His 29 assists were his fewest since 2005-06.

Of course, numbers of 30 and 29 are more than respectable, but the 28-year-old Nash is clearly on a slight decline. He's still got plenty of good hockey left, but his best days are behind him, and if Carolina gutted their team to get him, they wouldn't be any better than Columbus is now.

It's also imperative that the Hurricanes keep Jeff Skinner, the 20-year-old phenom who has dominated in his first two seasons. As Dreger reported in the tweet above, the Blue Jackets were believed to be after Skinner, a player with Nash's potential who is eight years younger.

So while it obviously would be nice to have Nash on the roster, this is a good move by the Hurricanes. They didn't acquire an All-Star-caliber forward, but they kept future intact. 

Sometimes, that's the best you can hope for.