Now, a few days later after the dust Howson stirred up has settled, a lot of the rash conclusions people had jumped to in order to acquire Nash have disappeared, but a new nuisance has arose. Fans, bloggers, and columnists alike seem to be challenging Rick Nash's worth. Let's get one thing straight, if you don't think you are willing for your team to pay the price to add a player like Rick Nash, that's one thing, but do not question this guy's ability to dominate the game. He's a former 1st overall pick, the face of a franchise ever since, been a top 10 player in this league (probably up until the atrocious season his team has had this year,) a key to Canada winning Gold in 2010, and been a class act the whole way. You don't exactly find these players roaming the streets.
Ok, now that I've gotten that off of my chest, let's actually talk trade. The fact of the matter is, the likelihood that Nash gets moved at the trade deadline is slim to none. The Hart of Hockey's official stance of the subject is that Columbus will not trade Rick Nash at the deadline or during the offseason (when trade rumors will inevitably heat up again, and actually carry a little more validity). As stated before, Columbus is not going to cough up rare player like Nash just like that, and teams that already consider themselves contenders aren't going to want to pay the price necessary to get him.
Simply declaring that Nash won't get moved ay any time is just no fun though! So, I've ran through many of the trade scnarios that have been presented over the past week or so and imagined a few of my own, but none of them end without a team on one end of a deal shooting itself in the foot one way or another. This has only added to my assumption that Nash will not be moved at all. There is but ONE scenario I can see actually occuring in reality in which both teams improve...
And that trade includes a great hockey team that everyone seems to have glanced over during all of these trade rumors: The St. Louis Blues.
ST. LOUIS recieves: (RW) Rick Nash, (C) Derick Brassard, 3rd round pick
COLUMBUS recieves: (RW) Chris Stewart, (G) Ben Bishop,
(RW) Vladimir Tarasenko, (C) Jaden Schwartz, 4th round pick
The Blue Jackets get a proven depth player with some scoring touch in Stewart, but the real gems are in the prospects. With the exception of Steve Mason's one-hit-wondr rookie season, the franchise has never truly had a #1 goaltender. Ben Bishop, who has spent most of his career in the minors, has made himself a case to be the AHL's MVP this season, and over the past few years he has built himself a reputation that has garnered high expectations for when he finally does make it to the NHL. The Blues now have arguably the best one-two punch between the pipes with Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot, who earned himself a three-year contract extension as the result of his All-Star caliber netminding. With that in mind, the Blues should have no reason to hesitate when it comes to dealing the 6'7" Bishop if it means getting a big prize, and Columbus can finally get (what they hope to be) someone who can develop into a legitimate #1 goalie.
The Jackets would also land Vladimir Tarasenko, who was considered the top Russian-born talent in the 2010 draft but fell into St. Louis' lap due to uncertainty regarding his contractual status with his KHL team, and Jaden Schwartz, another 1st round choice in 2010 who captained Team Canada at this year's World Juniors Championship.
Assuming this long-shot of a deal takes place, Columbus should also then hang onto Jeff Carter to center Sarnia's Nail Yakupov, who should go 1st overall at the upcoming draft (this is assuming CBJ wins the lottery, too.)
In this deal, Rick Nash gets sent to a market far smaller than a New York, Los Angeles, or a Toronto, (which he's said he prefers,) but still lands with a team who is a contender now and set to be contenders for years to come, as well. Not to mention the head coach of the Blues, Ken Hitchcock, spent some time coaching Nash in Columbus, seasons in which Nash put up the best statistics of his career.
Once again, I'll reiterate that Nash will probably never get moved at all, especially at this season's trade deadline. However, if Scott Howson would decide to move #61, the St. Louis deal proposed above makes more sense than a lot of the other junk floating around out there, don't you think?
