5 best fits for Rick Nash in NHL free agency
By Nick McAdam
Rick Nash has been hitting the NHL market quite frequently as of late, and it’s time for him to move again. Where does the veteran forward want to consider this time around?
It’s not hard to tell that Nash wants some silverware before the end of his career. A top pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets back when they were starting out surely wasn’t going to get him much of anything except exposure. An unlucky try with the New York Rangers in their prime only resulted in a Stanley Cup Final appearance once in 2014.
A recent spell with the Boston Bruins made sense because the B’s are likely going to be after it all for the next year or two. They needed surrounding scorers like Nash, and somehow, they fit him right into their cap space.
The same fortune came there as that throughout the career of Nash as the Bruins were eliminated in the second round of this year’s playoff cycle to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Now it’s time for the 33-year-old to make another decision. Does he want to stay with the Bruins and go for victory again? Will he want to take his chances elsewhere? These thoughts have to be flowing through his mind, but it will probably boil down to who can bring him a Cup.
He’s certainly worth his price tag of a $3.3 million cap hit. Nash totaled three goals and assists in six games for Boston, which added to his total of 21 goals and 13 assists in 2017-18.
The market suggests he’s a perfect surrounding player for an already built core. As mentioned before, Nash wants to win, so half of the teams in the NHL are probably already excluded from this list. However, there may be a few surprises in there.
Regardless, here are the five teams Nash could, should and maybe would consider once free agency opens on July 1.
5. Dallas Stars
When glancing at the Stars’ projected cap space at the moment, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that there’s no way they could land Nash, let alone have a successful offseason.
However, Dallas has eight total players heading into free agency either as unrestricted or restricted free agents. One of those squad members includes Kari Lehtonen, who likely doesn’t deserve a backup role at $5.5 million per year behind Ben Bishop.
If the Stars decide to let a majority of their players go, they’ll have some room to land Nash if they want.
It wasn’t an awful season for the Texas side regardless of the fact that they finished second-to-last in the Central Division. The Stars only missed out on the playoffs by three total points.
Everybody knows of the scoring power that Dallas has. Through 2014 and some parts of 2016, they were letting that scoring potential explode onto the rest of the NHL. They’re starting to get back into it, which could mean they are on the brink of being regular postseason members.
A core led by Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn will soon see some younger options to surround the core. Defense has been a major concern for the team over the past few years, but additions in players like third overall draft pick with Miro Heiskanen can help in the time ahead.
The Stars have also used veterans over the course of time to bolster their appearance around the core. Jason Spezza and Alexander Radulov come to mind, and throwing Nash into the mix wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Nash can score and play alongside franchise players very well. The Stars could be on the ice throughout the month of April for many years ahead. Winning is on the horizon, and that’s exactly the type of place Nash would want to be in.