Consensus is the Rangers general manager Glen Sather made the smart and responsible move in not giving into the inexplicably high demands by the Columbus Blue Jackets for perennial 30 goal 65 point man Rick Nash. There is no doubt about the talents of Nash and what they could have done for this year's Ranger team. The guy can flat out score. He has a high quality shot, premier size and by escaping the purgatory that is Columbus Blue Jacket hockey, he would likely play his heart out down the stretch.
Nevertheless, there are three main reasons why Sather's decision not to make the trade for Nash was the smart one.
1) The Price - Ultimately, this is, in fact, what stopped the trade from being made. While a very good player, Nash neither has the stats nor the proven leadership abilities to garner a package that included Ryan McDonough or Michael Del Zotto, Derek Stepan or Carl Hagelin, Brandon Dubinsky, top prospect Chris Kreider and a 1st round pick, which according to New York Post writer Larry Brooks was the asking price for Nash. While that trade would have been absurd to anyone who has watched this year's Rangers team and what they seem capable of, looking at Sather's history and his penchant for trying to acquire the Big Fish, I have no doubt Sather considered the high demand by Columbus.
2) Nash's Cap Hit - This is not your father's NHL. With the hard salary cap in place and the upcoming CBA negotiations, there is so much more that comes into play during trade discussions than the abilities of the players involved. In reality, you are only as good as you are, relative to your cap hit. This is especially true with a team like the Rangers that has no issue handing out big contracts and therefore generally gets less bang for their buck. At 7.8 million for many more years, Nash has the fourth highest cap hit in the NHL. Nash has never scored 80 points and has a career plus/minus of -75. His cap hit is higher than Malkin, the Sedins, Toews, Stamkos, Perry, Backstrom, Datsyuk, Giroux and everyone else in the league not named Crosby, Ovechkin or Eric Staal. For a cap hit of that magnitude for a player with Nash's production, Columbus has no business demanding from the Rangers what they did. Nash's cap hit makes him less valuable than he already is. This is something GMs fail to see; you aren't just trading Rick Nash, you are trading for his bloated contract as well.
3) The "He Is the Best Player on a Bad Team in a Small Market so He Must Be Underrated So Much So That He Becomes Overrated" Syndrome - This idea takes hold in many sports. A guy plays for a bad team for years and puts up great numbers. He isn't really publicized much in the national media and his team's games are rarely nationally televised. He is a former 1st overall pick. He is flashy. He scores highlight real goals. He is a hulking winger. He has no talent around him which accounts for his low assist totals. And so on. All of these play into the media making Nash out to be a star in the NHL when his true stats do not back up that idea. He has been viewed as a figure stuck in a bad situatioon in Columbus all the while his "stock" has risen while his talents have not.
Don't get me wrong, I would love Nash on the Rangers. But for that price and for that cap hit, I''ll pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment