Friedman: Rangers could trade Nash in a “crazy off-season”
Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet’s hockey insider was on a Buffalo radio station and was asked about if the Rangers would move Rick Nash this summer. Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot transcribed the interview here.
“Yes, I do,” Friedman said. “A couple of guys have told me that they think [this] is going to be a crazy off-season. That this has the potential [with] 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.”
Now the idea of trading Rick Nash, especially this offseason has been covered here as well. I also don’t believe that many teams will scoff at his contract either. One destination that is continuously brought up is St. Louis, and should they fall to the San Jose Sharks in the West Final (currently down 2-1) moves will happen.
As for the Rangers, Friedman explained where he thinks they are heading into this off-season. “I think the New York Rangers are at a crossroads. Really disappointed with the way the season ended this year. [Nash] 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.”
Blues coach, Ken Hitchcock is an outspoken fan of Nash and Kevin Shattenkirk is a year away from UFA so there could be a match. The Rangers are in a difficult situation on the blue-line with both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, who both have no move clauses with hefty cap hits. This likely means that Keith Yandle will be accepting a boatload of money when he becomes a UFA, most likely to his hometown Boston. Shatterkirk would fit the bill nicely and is a bargain at 4.25M next season.
If the Rangers were to go this route, they would free up enough cap space to sign all 4 of their RFA’s and have a little left over to get another veteran winger. Then when Girardi’s full no move becomes a limited no trade, you can ship him out and use that money to lock up Shattenkirk.
Sounds perfect doesn’t it? Sound off below.
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