The Rick Nash trade talks are getting more interesting with each passing day, but that doesn't mean we're any closer to a resolution or a completed trade for the Columbus Blue Jackets captain. General manager Scott Howson continues to listen to potential suitors for Nash's services, but it's still evident that he's not going to ship off his franchise player without getting a ton of value in return.
So far, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, two teams are making strong runs at Nash. Here's what McKenzie had to say on television Thursday night regarding one of those teams.
Two strong suitors have very much emerged for Rick Nash, and that would start with the Los Angeles Kings. Here's an organization that desperately needs goal scoring from the wings and Rick Nash would provide that. They've gotta be the most interested team, the highest motivated team, they've gotta get goal scoring. They have big chips to play. Jonathan Bernier the net minder, defenseman Jack Johnson. No one will work harder to make this deal happen.
The other team making a hard push are the New York Rangers, but McKenzie reports that Michael Del Zotto is just one of the pieces Howson and the Blue Jackets would like in return. It's understandable that the Rangers might not want to move around pieces of their roster, which currently sits well ahead of the Boston Bruins for first place in the Eastern Conference standings. Howson would also ask for several prospects, including Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller and Tim Erixon. Glen Sather and the Rangers have the assets, but it's unknown how much they're willing to give up.
Toronto, San Jose, Vancouver, Philadelphia and St. Louis are also teams that have sniffed around, according to TSN, but it's unknown if they're as interested as the Kings and Rangers or if they have the assets and the ability to pull of a deal.
With so many teams involved, however, it's holding up other deals around the league. The Kings aren't going to move a guy like Jack Johnson without knowing what's going on with Rick Nash, and that's how you get grid lock. This was shaping up to be a quiet deadline season, but all the sudden, two trades have already been completed and it's looking like a ton of moves could come down to the wire on deadline day.
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