New York Rangers Rumors Rick Nash on the Move … Again

New York Rangers and Another Rick Nash Rumor

One of the best parts of being a fan of a New York sport teams is that they are pretty much always in trade rumors, which is kind of exciting. The New York Rangers are clearly not an exception, especially when the team has been in cup contention the past four or five years now. Big players are always linked to coming here, and the Rangers front office has found ways to get some big names here via trade almost routinely since 2013-2014 (Martin St. Louis is 13-14, Keith Yandle in 14-15, and most recently Eric Staal in 15-16).

However this is a double edged sword; if you don’t perform well here, the fans are going to get on you and try to run you out of town. The New York Rangers have a lot of players on their roster who have not performed to the number next to their name on the salary cap. Among those players is the often-rumored-to-be-traded Rick Nash.

Usually, the rumors of a Nash trade out of New York do not come from a big name hockey insider, which makes you question validity, but when one of those top insiders does mention the possibility of the big winger, who has been extremely inconsistent in his 4 years on Broadway being dealt in a trade, it is something to take notice of. That is why I have gathered you readers here today.

Rick Nash’s Future in Eliotte Friedman’s Eyes

Eliotte Friedman, of Sportsnet.ca, was a guest during a show on WGR 550 in Buffalo on Friday and he had some interesting things to say about where the Rangers may stand with Nash.

Question: “Do you think Rick Nash could be lured away from the Rangers with their cap situation?”

Friedman:

"“Yes, I do. I think – guys, honestly, a couple of guys have told me that they think there is going to be a crazy off-season. That this has the potential… the amount of names that are going to be discussed is going to be wild, and the type and quality of player that’s going to be discussed is going to be very high.”“I think the New York Rangers are at a crossroads. Really disappointed with the way the season ended this year. He has a no-move clause. So he controls his destination, but I do think if the Rangers could find a place where he would want to go. I could definitely see the possibility that they try and move him. Absolutely.”"

Friedman also cited that because their might be an expansion draft next year, teams may try to move some players with no-movement clauses in their contracts so they won’t have all their protection slots automatically filled up.

Friedman makes a very valid point. The Rangers have a lot of players with some form of no-trade or no-movement clause on their roster. Going into the 2017-2018 season (the first season after the expansion draft) the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal on no movement clauses, Rick Nash and Derek Stepan on full no-trade clauses, and Dan Girardi, Derek Brassard, and Ryan McDonagh will all have limited no-trade clauses beginning at that point. Moving one or two of those players to open up protection slots for players like J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider, and Derek Stepan is something the Rangers would be stupid not to look into.

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Another benefit of trading Nash is the $7.8 million in cap space it would open up for the next two seasons until he is an unrestricted free agent. With RFAs like Kreider, Miller, and Kevin Hayes all still unsigned and Keith Yandle, a UFA, remaining unsigned as well, that cap space would be quintessential.

New York Rangers Trade Nash For…

Now, the main question is what could a Rick Nash trade bring back to the Rangers? That is a question that I don’t really know the answer to. Although, Nash is a great two-way player with obvious goal scoring upside, that cap hit is going to scare away a lot of teams, and immediately eliminate a bunch of teams from the initial discussions.

One team a lot of people (read: not insider) have linked Nash to is the St. Louis Blues. With some key forwards becoming UFAs this offseason for the Blues, the need for some added scoring might be there for them come free agency. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, a native of New Rochelle, New York, has been linked to the Rangers for years now. Now that the 27-year-old has 1 year remaining on his contract at a modest cap hit of $4.25 million, he may be an attractive option for the Rangers if they are serious about revamping their blue line.

Do I think 1 year of Shatenkirk is enough for 2 years of Nash? No. There would have to be additional assets (a pick(s) or prospect(s)) coming back as well, but the trade would make sense for the Rangers. It would open roughly $3.4 million in cap space, allow the team to let Keith Yandle walk, and go out and acquire a veteran winger on free agency while keeping at least a little bit of cap room to go into the season with.

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One team that I can see the Rangers being a good match with in a Nash trade, especially if they are trying to get younger and recoup some picks and prospects is a team like the Florida Panthers. The Panthers won the Atlantic Division this year after only making the playoffs for the second time in a long while. The team won 47 games to go along with 103 points. Brian Campbell’s enormous contract is finally coming off the books, so the Panthers, a very young, up-and-coming team have a ton of cap space entering the offseason. They may be one key offensive player away from being a true contender in the East, so they may look to add a guy in a trade.

Could the New York Rangers possibly get back a guy like winger Vincent Trocheck and a pick or a couple prospects and a pick in return for Nash? I have no idea. I don’t even know if Rick Nash would accept a trade to go to the Panthers.

The point I am trying to make is very simple though; the Rangers, like Friedman said, are at a crossroads. Do they continue to roll with their guy, or do they do what may be best for the future of the team?

Stay tuned to find out.