No to Nash

A Rick Nash trade would cripple the Rangers.

The Rangers are the best team in the Eastern conference through two-thirds of the season.  They have been relentless in their will to win and ability to hold a lead.  Led by Vezina frontrunner Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers defense and goaltending has been arguably the best in the league. 

Unfortunately their demise and weakness comes at a crucial point, the power play and goal scoring.  The Rangers have gone stretches where the power play has been successful, but there have been some large inconsistencies in the last month. This is where big Rick Nash comes in.  Arguably one of the best and most talented goal scorers in the game, Nash is currently playing on the worst team in the NHL.  He would be a huge asset to the team, and let me make it clear, I would LOVE Rick Nash in blue. Especially since he played on a line with Brad Richards for Canada, the two could be a lethal combination.

Rick Nash

Yet, we have to play The Price is Right now, and Bob Barker is no longer around to make it entertaining.  For Rangers fans like myself, it is nauseating. 

The first price is Brandon Dubinsky; he will definitely be a part of this trade if it happens.  After signing a new contract last year, Duby has not lived up to the expectations, with just six goals on the season.  As one of the most beloved Rangers, it will be tough to see him go, but he is expendable with Nash coming in. Personally I would send Anisimov instead of Duby, but its what Columbus asks for.

The next step is the prospects, a big concern in my book.   It was said that Columbus wants Chris Kreider, Tim Erixon, and JT Miller.  Those are three guys who cannot be touched, unless it was Steven Stamkos or Evgeni Malkin who were coming back.  I would send a package of Dubinsky, Wojtek, Wolski, Mats Zuccarello, Christian Thomas, Pavel Valentenko and a 1^st round pick.  If that doesn’t get the job done, then walk away Glen Sather.

Rangers Prospect Chris Kreider

Nash’s contract is one of the most expensive in the NHL, with a cap hit at  $7.8 million per year.  Combine that with the large contracts of Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, and Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers would be devoting over 40% of their cap to four players.  That is an insane number to deal with, considering several important young players will need contracts in the next two years.  Some of those players include Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Del Zotto, and Carl Hagelin.

If Sather can work his magic and pull the trigger on this deal with the players mentioned in my trade, then go right ahead, we’ll figure out the cap trouble.  Under no circumstances do you trade Kreider, Erixon or JT Miller.

The Beasts of the East: Rangers win 3-0

The New York Rangers made a statement to the NHL on Tuesday night in Boston.

Henrik Lundqvist made 42 saves and notched his NHL-leading sevent shutout of the season as the Rangers defeated the Bruins 3-0.  Proving to the rest of the league why they are on top of the Eastern Conference, the Rangers pulled nine points ahead of the second place Bruins for the conference lead.

Led by the MVP play of Lundqvist, the Rangers also continued to get production from their Captain Ryan Callahan, who scored a power play goal in the first period for his sixth goal in four games.  Callahan tied his career high in goals at twenty-three.  Last season, Callahan scored the twenty-three in sixty games; the Rangers are only through fifty-five games this year. 

Ryan McDonagh added the second goal with 11.8 seconds remaining in the first period, and Artem Anisimov scored on a 2 on 1 for his 100^th career NHL point in the second.  Aside from that, much of the second and third period was played in the Rangers zone with Lundqvist and the defense coming up clutch. 

The Bruins outshout the Rangers 42-20 in the game, but couldn’t find the net. “Lundsanity” took over as the blueshirts netminder made saves in every important situation, including a late break in by David Kreijci.  Lundqvist is top five in every goalie statistic, and many consider him as the frontrunner for the Vezina Trophy. (NHL’s best goaltender)   There has also been some talk of Lundqvist being in the running for the Hart Trophy for the NHL MVP.

The Rangers have won four in a row, and are now 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, while continuing to spread themselves apart from the rest of the Atlantic Division.  The Flyers are now 10 points back, as well as having one more game played.   The blueshirts are now 2-0 vs. the Bruins this season, and will face them two more times, both at MSG. 

Brandon Dubinsky left the game late in the third period after getting hit in the face with the puck.  He needed ten stiches and has a couple of chipped teeth, but nothing that should keep him out of the lineup going forward. 

The Rangers are now 37-13-5 with 79 points on the season.   With 27 games left in the regular season, the Rangers could go 13-14 the rest of the way and still finish with at least 105 points on the season.  They haven’t broken the 100-point barrier since their 93-94 Stanley Cup Season.

The Rangers are back at it Thursday night vs. the Chicago Blackhawks in an original six matchup at MSG.