If you didn’t visit the blog yesterday, apparently you were the only one, because just ten minutes before the trade deadline the traffic had gotten so intense (almost 16,000 visits in the 2pm hour!) it actually broke one of the Bloguin servers and was down for the next six hours.
So I obviously missed a lot of what happened post deadline, so here’s a recap.
After the trade deadline came and went without Rich Nash being traded to the Rangers or anyone else for that matter, Columbus GM Scott Howson decided throw his star player under the bus by telling Blue Jacket Nation their favorite player asked out of Columbus (via Puck Daddy)…
“With respect to Rick Nash, he approached us and asked us to consider trading him. We agreed to accommodate his request as long as we could get a deal that would provide us with cornerstone pieces to help us to compete for a Stanley Cup championship in the coming years. It did not happen by 3 o’clock today. This is too important to our franchise and our fans to do a deal that is not in our best interests.”
So what was this package that Howson didn’t think was enough for Nash?
Larry Brooks at the New York Post reported the Rangers final offer was Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon, J.T. Miller, Christian Thomas and a first-round pick.
…not sure if I’m more shocked Howson turned the deal down or that Sather offered that much.
…guess Howson is banking on playoff failure from the Rangers or Sharks to raise Nash’s price this off-season. He better hope that happens, because there was plenty in that package from the Rangers to start a serious rebuild.
While some Rangers fans weren’t happy the Blueshirts didn’t get Nash, two prospects were pretty happy they weren’t part of a package for the Columbus sniper…
"@dylan_mcilrath: @cpt27 we survived! #LGR" yes! Nothing would have compared to NYR. #roomie
— Christian Thomas (@cpt27) February 27, 2012
So if the Rangers didn’t get Nash, who did they get? Sheldon Souray? Teemu Selanne? Ryan Smyth? Nope, John Scott.
…who?
Other than wanting to boost the Rangers average size (Scott is 6′, 8″), not really sure where he fits in. Guess you can always use some size on defense.
For more on Scott click here.
So why didn’t the Rangers make a significant move at the deadline? I’ll let Sather tell you..
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…while the lack of a significant move to upgrade the power play may come back to bite them this season, by not trading away any of their young core or top prospects the Rangers have set themselves up to be perennial Stanley Cup contenders for the next decade. Not a bad consolation prize.
…that is unless Sather decides to reconcile trade talks for Nash in the offseason.
While you guys took out half of Bloguin in the process, I want to thank all of you for making TheNYRBlog your home for the 2012 Trade Deadline. It means a lot.
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