Trade Deadline Approaches!

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This year is probably the craziest trade dead that I’ve seen in quiet some time. There appear to be 84 teams competing for a playoff spot and nearly 40 of them are willing to make a move to acquire that final piece that will either allow them to bring home the Stanley Cup or just squeak into the eighth and final playoff spot.

As it stands now the biggest fish in the pond is of course Columbus Blue Jackets prized winger Rick Nash. I’ll try not to dwell too much on this as it’s been over analysed for nearly two weeks now. The asking price for Nash is absurd. Scott Howson appears to be unwilling to move Nash for anything less then 15 players and 10 first round draft picks.

Well that’s what it seems like. All the articles that I’ve read have mentioned first line players, a couple top prospects and a couple of early draft picks….just to be considered! WHAT!

We’re talking about Rick Nash here, this isn’t Steve Stamkos or Evgeni Malkin. Rich Nash. Now I’ll admit Nash is a good player, but I’m no fan. He’s not the type of player that can carry team by himself. If he were the Blue Jackets wouldn’t be competing for the lottery pick.

There is a tremendous amount of pressure on Howson to make the right move. At the same time there is no pressure at all. Howson would be wise to wait until the draft to move Nash as plenty of teams that are interested in him aren’t willing to mess up their team chemistry, let alone their entire roster to acquire Nash’s services.

A handful of teams would make a good fit for Nash, but those teams likely don’t have enough pieces to make a deal work. Nash will likely end up in San Jose to play along side his buddy Joe Thornton. Where he will explode and everyone will proclaim him to be a godsend. But we all know that his game will be brought to a new level playing along side one of the NHL’s greatest and most proficient playmakers of all time.

In return the Jackets would likely require a goalie (duh) which could mean the end of Antti Niemi’s run in California. Which would leave a big hole in net for the Sharks. But never fear the Sharks could sign Tomas Vokoun or Evgeni Nabokov via UFA (assuming they aren’t resigned by the Capitals and Islanders respectively).

Enough with Nash, I don’t like him and I don’t particularly care if he’s dealt or not. In the end someone will greatly over pay for him.

 

There are a host of teams that are looking for some solid secondary scoring and the most attractive options appear to be the New York Islanders P.A. Parenteau (whom I love) and the Toronto Maple Leafs Mikhael Grabovski.  These guys would be good fits for teams like the Nashville Predators or the New York Rangers. The biggest plus is that the return wouldn’t be nearly as high as the impending Nash deal.

Two other players that I’m highly interested in Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks and Mike Ribeiro of the Dallas Stars.

Raymond is pretty much a redundant player on the Canucks who could use a little bit of size in exchange for him to compliment the Canucks tremendous skill. He’ll likely be dealt at the deadline and the Canucks. Though don’t expect the player they receive in return to be someone of tremendous value a player like Mike Knuble would be a good fit as he adds some size to the lineup., Despite being an old guy and not over productive he can still help out.

Ribeiro on the other hand might be more difficult to deal as he’s still under contract with a limited no trade clause…oh and he makes $5 million so he’s not a cheap option. But he does have tremendous talent and would be a great addition to teams looking for some added offensive at the deadline.

Of course we’ll just have to wait until Monday to find out who goes where and what prices are paid to acquire them.

The trade deadline whether you love it or hate is probably the single most exciting day on the NHL calender. It has the ability to push your team over the top this season or set your team up for the next five years.