NHL Trade Rumours: The Rick Nash Saga Continues in Columbus

Well the Rick Nash talks have taken off once again. There seems to be several angles to this situation, but only so many solutions. Does Nash want to leave? Does the general manager Scott Howson need to trade him? All of these questions have lead to a huge story throughout the NHL offseason.   

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy provides a close look at Nash's choices for a new home. Clearly, Nash would like a "set-up" man to help him "close" some wins.  According to Wyshynski, Nash will only play for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks. 

Surprise, surprise.  

For Nash to consistently collect 70-plus points, at least an above-average playmaking center is required. Jeff Carter is far from that, making this a poor attempt by the front office to get Nash some help. This makes you wonder who Scott Howson thought would be passing the puck last year.  

First and foremost, management should have realized this long ago. Rick Nash is an elite-level goalscorer, but remains only that. His best statistical season came in the Blue Jackets' only playoff appearance in 2009. Nash scored 79 points that year, 40 of them being goals.  

Nash signed an eight-year $62 million commitment with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the following offseason; that's a cap hit of $7.8 million until 2017-2018. Has Columbus really changed that much since then? While his frustrations have grown, the team's unsuccessful seasons have been consistent.

Why the drama now? He's only 28 years old.  

Nash can play out a few more seasons with the Blue Jackets before he makes the decision to go to a contender. Would it not be more fulfilling to do it with the team that drafted you, and has paid you millions of dollars every season?  

It surely isn't easy, but this is a sentiment that used to be carried with great honour, just ask Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic. Even though the success of Yzerman and Sakic will be experienced by only a handful of players, this should be a lesson in loyalty for the young players trying to chase success early in their careers. 

However, Nash's eight-year commitment is definitely a two-way street, and must be respected by both parties. 

An article by Ben Chodos of Bleacher Report addresses the current demands of the Blue Jackets. Howson's demands are definitely steep, but what would you expect from a general manager on the hot seat trying to trade his only highly valuable forward?

Draft picks and two NHL-ready youngsters will definitely help him keep his job. The problem is, no team would be willing to pay that price for a one-dimensional winger with a cap hit of almost $8 million. 

The Blue Jackets have had terrible success with the NHL Entry Draft since Nash's selection. Both Nikolai Zherdev (heartbreaking selection, just look at the draft class) and Nikita Filatov were easily the biggest disappoints for the Blue Jackets, followed closely by Pascal Leclaire, Gilbert Brule, Derick Brassard and Jakub Voráček. The worst part of it all, every single one of these players were a top 10 draft pick. If you go through the possible selections, I'm sure Rick Nash would love to build a time machine with his 7.8 million a year. 

With the addition of Jack Johnson at the trade deadline, the Blue Jackets improved their biggest issue, defence. Drafting the most NHL-ready defenceman in Ryan Murray was also a great move to solidify their blue line. With the signing of Adrian Aucoin in the offseason, The Blue Jackets have improved their defence tremendously. 

A not-so-far-down-the-list problem is goaltending, which was vastly improved by signing Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky had a great season with the Flyers in 2010-2011, which can only help the current goaltending woes in Columbus. Steve Mason will definitely feel the heat now, if he's not already a back-up in the eyes of the coaches.

Lastly, the forwards are the youngest part of this team, and will need time to grow. With a captain like Rick Nash to show them the way, the Columbus Blue Jackets can still have a successful rebuild.

This team will ultimately be lost without him. He's everything to the Blue Jackets' organization, hence the premium price for Nash's services. Including a 37-year-old Vinny Prospal and 31-year-old Derek Mackenzie, the average age of the current corps of forwards is approximately 26 years old.

The team is not bad by any means, but needs time to come together, especially after the abysmal drafts of the early-mid 2000s. It's been a slow process, but they seem to be moving in the right direction now. A lot of the play down the middle will require Derick Brassard to truly hit his potential, while Ryan Johansen, their best offensive prospect, needs to develop soon for this team to have any success in the future.    

Trading Rick Nash does not make Columbus better, but pushes them backwards in the rebuilding process. With the current pieces they have, this seems like an unnecessary venture.  

Rick Nash is still young and playing for a very youthful team. Signing an eight-year commitment, even though he could have gone elsewhere, suggests that Nash once had hopes for this franchise. Nash has done everything for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the team has not held up their end of the bargain.

Is it too late? Seems like it.

With huge improvements in the Blue Jackets' camp, Nash should consider sticking it out for a few more seasons. Nevertheless, if he does stay in Columbus and they continue down this abysmal path, all the power to Rick Nash.