At last, the Rick Nash frenzy has come to an end. The Blue Jackets have traded Nash to the New York Rangers in exchange Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon, and a 1st round pick. This is pretty close to the kind of deal Blue Jackets GM Scott Howsen was looking for. Ideally, he would’ve liked to exchange for a player that could have filled Nash’s former role as face of the franchise, but after months and months of trying, he couldn’t make that happen. Instead, he got two top-six capable forwards in Anismov and Dubinsky, and a young defenseman in Tim Erixon.
Even with Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets had a lot of work that needed to be done in order to improve their team. They needed more depth and although they lost one of the league’s best players in Nash, it was clear that his heart wasn’t in Columbus. With this trade, the Jackets have started to gain the depth that they need to succeed in this league, but they will need to continue building. As for the Rangers, if they weren’t enough of a threat last season when they finished the regular season # 1 in the Eastern Conference, look for them to make an even lengthier run at the Stanley Cup this year.
Via TSN
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