The Fan Hub

The biggest name on the NHL trade market is and will remain Columbus Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash. The 27-year old winger has five 30-goal seasons on his resume (and reached 40 in two of them), and has been the face of the Columbus franchise for nine and a half long seasons. His presence would instantly make a top contender like the New York Rangers or Boston Bruins the odds-on Stanley Cup favorite, or push a bubble team like the Los Angeles Kings or Toronto Maple Leafs into serious playoff discussion.

So what’s the problem? Why are so many teams on the fence about whether or not they want to acquire Nash. Well, for starters, he’s extremely expensive. Not only would a team have to give up a great deal in terms of player assets to pry him away from the Blue Jackets, but he also comes with a $7.8 million cap hit that runs through 2018. Any team that wants to get Nash to make a playoff push is going to be cautious about dealing key players from their existing nucleus, and/or hampering their payroll to make future moves.

Another slightly less prevalent concern is that Nash has never been asked to perform with a great deal of pressure on him. Sure, the rigors of being a first overall pick are daunting, as is being handed the captaincy of a franchise at 24 years. But the fact of the matter is that, through no fault of his own, Nash has played on bad teams in a fledgling hockey market. He’s only been to the playoffs once, with the Jackets being eliminated in a first round sweep by Detroit in 2009. And while there’s no evidence that Nash can’t perform on a big stage, the fact that hasn’t proven that he can is just another reason to not give up a ton of money and assets to get him.