As we approach the NHL trade deadline later today, I'm sure every Rangers fan is refreshing Twitter looking to get any and every update on what will happen with Rick Nash. I think over the past two days the Rangers have gone from being the favorites in the Rick Nash Sweepstakes to now being out of it, according to a Tweet on Sunday from ESPN's Katie Strang.
The truth is, nobody really knows for sure what's going on. I'm not saying that as a knock to the NHL reporters that do their jobs well, I'm just saying things change in the trade market seemingly every hour. Glen Sather could've told Columbus on Sunday that the Rangers are no longer interested in Rick Nash, but that still wouldn't be the end of it. It could be a negotiating ploy and posturing on Sather's part to try and get Columbus to lower their asking price, or it could be that the Rangers have just decided to move on. But that's not to say either side won't decide to change their mind and pick up the phone to make a deal come 2:59 p.m. later today.
A lot of people have different thoughts on what the Rangers should and shouldn't do in the trade market. I'm one of those people who's somewhat split down the middle on what I'd like to see the Rangers do. Ideally, I'd like to see them add a veteran defenseman who can help the power play who's preferably a right-handed shot. Dennis Wideman, for example, is a guy that would fit that mold perfectly. I also think it would be a huge boost to add a left wing, like Ray Whitney, who can be a top six forward and score goals. In other words, I think any move that Glen Sather decides to make will be one that isn't going to gut the entire Rangers roster and force them to surrender top prospects and/or draft picks.
My own personal opinion is that I don't think Rick Nash will be a Ranger when it's all said and done. It's a nice thought and I would love to have him, but Glen Sather and John Tortorella seem to have a different approach as far as wanting to go to war with what they have while letting the kids play. If Sather is able to get Nash while only having to give up, say, Brandon Dubinsky from the NHL roster I think he'd do it, but that just seems extremely unlikely to me. Slats typically likes to bring in underachieving veterans whose contracts are expiring at the end of the season in hopes of providing a spark in their game by placing them in a new setting.
Considering the Rangers have the best record in the Eastern Conference as a result of hard work and a team that's mainly made up of players who have come up through their system, I don't see Glen Sather tempting fate and doing anything drastic to change the recipe for success that's worked so far this season.
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