Fansided

5 best fits for Rick Nash in NHL free agency

By Nick McAdam

BOSTON, MA - MAY 2: Rick Nash #61 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Garden on May 2, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rick Nash
BOSTON, MA - MAY 2: Rick Nash #61 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Garden on May 2, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rick Nash /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 23: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is unable to stop a shot from Devante Smith-Pelly #25 of the Washington Capitals in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Washington defeated Columbus 6-3 to win the series 4-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sergei Bobrovsky
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 23: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is unable to stop a shot from Devante Smith-Pelly #25 of the Washington Capitals in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Washington defeated Columbus 6-3 to win the series 4-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sergei Bobrovsky /

2. Columbus Blue Jackets

It was really difficult to put Columbus on this list. However, writing it out might make it sound decent at best, but a lot of things have to fall in place.

A lot of Jackets fans would disagree, but seeing Nash in his old sweater would actually be rather interesting and at points, nice. The forward didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms with Columbus when departing for the Rangers, but with Stanley Cup contention very soon for the team, more players like Nash might be welcomed.

If you haven’t noticed already, a lot of the teams on this list need players to surround an already existing and in terms of the Jackets, elite core. Nash, again, would fit right into the scoring threats displayed by an array of Jackets from the top to bottom of their offense.

A few big issues come to question, however. First, Jarmo Kekäläinen is likely the most conservative general manager come July 1. It literally cannot be counted the amount of times Jarmo has said the phrase “draft and develop.” Draft young players and let them stick for years until something comes out of it. It has been a decent strategy so far with their recent playoff appearances.

More from FanSided

Will Jarmo want to take a chance on an old and expensive player? Columbus had to do a lot of work over the years to make their cap pretty again. Chances are Jarmo won’t want to fall into the trap that was left for him when he arrived in Ohio.

Nash will have to put in a lot of work to be coached by John Tortorella. It isn’t a bad thing at all to be coached by Torts, but will Nash want to put in possibly more than two sessions a day? Will he be willing to sit games as a healthy scratch if he isn’t playing well? For some reason, and this may be wrong, but Nash doesn’t strike as the type to be put to a mental and physical test like that.

And even then, will the Jackets be able to move enough players around to fit Nash into the team? The salary cap world is no joke, and Columbus still finds themselves in a certain predicament with bad contracts.

There’s no doubt that Nash would fit into the Jackets’ game lineup, which is what this piece is meant for. However, will the puzzle pieces be connected in free agency between Columbus and Nash? Maybe or maybe not.

Home/NHL Free Agency