New York Rangers Rumors: Rick Nash Could Be Had In Trade

New York Rangers Rumors: Could Rick Nash be traded away this offseason in an effort to become players in the free agency?

New York Rangers rumors will be rampant this summer as the Rangers will look to turn things around after a somewhat disappointing 2015-16 season. The Rangers were able to qualify for the postseason, but were handled rather easily in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, being eliminated in five games.

The Rangers have an older roster, and there will be plenty of questions that need to be answered this summer. They already have $56 million committed in salary next season and have six players, including Nash, already set to earn $5 million or more. That is before you even add in restricted free agents Chris Krieder, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller.

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Because of that, the Rangers could look to shed some more salary. One way to do that would be to trade away Nash. According to Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman that could happen, as the Rangers are reportedly open to moving their veteran.

On Saturday’s Headlines segment, Friedman discussed the possibility of Nash being moved by the Rangers. Here is what he had to say:

"“You’re going to hear a lot of wild rumours this year George, I think this is going to be a crazy season for them and one of the first to hit is Rick Nash of the New York Rangers. He has a 12-team list that he can be dealt to and there seems to be a little bit of smoke to this one. I think they’ve been asked. I think they’d be willing to do it under the right circumstances.“However, there’s a couple things here. No. 1, he’s got a $7.8 million cap hit for two more seasons — how would that work? And No. 2 , while he struggled this year the Rangers really defended him. They felt that Nash played hurt and that affected his totals and I think they do look at it and say if he’s healthy next year he could be much more effective. But he’s going to be a name and the Rangers are going to be a team to watch.”"

There could be more to this than just shedding salary for the Rangers. While they have their own free agents they have to make a decision about, there is a big fish set to hit the open market in Steven Stamkos.

According to John Shannon of Sportsnet, a trade of Nash could put the Rangers in position to get into the bidding war for Stamkos that is sure to ensue this summer.

The Rangers need to find a way to infuse some talent into the roster, as the current core group looks to have run its course. While this all sounds good, and will get Rangers fans excited, it will not be easy to execute.

Nash has a list of 12 teams that he can be traded to, as Friedman mentioned. That cuts down on the options the Rangers have to move him to. Also, the contract is tough to move, especially for a player that struggled as much as Nash did last season.

While he may have been battling injuries, that will not help the Rangers net a strong package in return. The stats are what they are, and Nash had very poor ones last season. Nash had a career low 15 goals and 36 points overall.

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With his value probably at its lowest point, it may be tough for the Rangers to move Nash and get back fair value. But if they feel that is the quickest way to improving the team, they will try their best to do it.