Around the time of the 2012 NHL Draft, it looked or at least sounded like Ottawa was a potential trade partner for the Columbus Blue Jackets concerning Rick Nash. With a collective assortment of NHL-ready or near NHL-ready prospects that will vie for spots on the roster next season, they were identified as one of the organizations that were competitive enough and had the pieces to make a deal happen.
Although rumour leaked out that the Senators were actually the most aggressive in pursuing a trade for Nash, they eventually picked up their ball and went home out of frustration because Nash wouldn’t include Ottawa on his list of teams that he would accept a trade to. (Why management would even bother getting deep into negotiations without knowing whether or not Nash would come here, remains a valid question.)
Yet, despite management’s willingness to engage the Jackets and kick the tires on what it would take to acquire Nash — rumours pegged names like Zibanejad, Foligno, and Lehner as part of a package — I maintained this nagging feeling of dread that Ottawa could re-emerge as a suitor if none of the teams on Nash’s list could pony up a good enough offer for acquire the forward.
Fortunately, those fears of giving up inexpensive and controllable, young assets for Nash and that ridiculously expensive contract ($7.8 million per season for the next 6 years) have been put to bed. TSN’s Darren Dreger announced this afternoon that the New York Rangers had acquired Nash for defenceman Tim Erixon, forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov and a 2013 first round pick.
Count your blessings Ottawa, we narrowly avoided bringing in an overrated and aging forward who would have had a difficult time outperforming that contract. Now he’s New York’s problem.
Phew.
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