Rick Nash
Rick Nash is the most obvious player to trade at the trade deadline. Nash’s $7.8 million contract comes off the books at the end of this season. A contract Nash has not lived up to yet this season, as he has only nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 43 games.
Yes, Nash heavily contributes to the “little things” in his game. Although he is not as much of a goal scorer now, his two-way defensive game is needed on a team with such lackluster defense. However, the Rangers need prospects, picks, and more cap space.Trading Nash would have more pros than cons.
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The biggest benefit of trading Nash would be cap space. The Rangers have a multitude of players in need of new contracts this summer, including J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey, and Brady Skjei. Trading Nash would give the Rangers the wiggle room needed to sign these players who are deserving of raises.
The problem with trading Rick Nash lies within the contract itself. He has a modified no-trade clause, with which he would need to submit a list of 12 teams he would accept a trade to. This means that the Rangers would need to find one team from this list that will both accept Nash and his contract and will give the Rangers a suitable return. While it is not the worst thing to be stuck with, it would be a bump in the road.
The return for a player like Nash could be substantial. The Rangers could get at least two pieces in a trade like this, especially if they retain salary. The Rangers should shoot for a prospect and a draft pick in the first two to three rounds which would benefit their prospect pool and gaining cap space.