The Boston Bruins paid big for Rick Nash once; should they do it again?

The Boston Bruins took a gamble on adding Rick Nash before the trade deadline this season. For the most part, it paid off. Is it time to roll the dice again and re-sign him in free agency?

This is what it took for the Boston Bruins to get their hands on Rick Nash: Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Lindgren a 2018 first-round pick and 2019 seventh-round pick.

Nash was one of the top wingers on the trade block come February. The Bruins did not see a tremendous return on their investment. In 11 regular season games, Nash only added three goals and three assists to the Bruins’ lineup. When the Bruins got to the playoffs, the production didn’t get much better. He had five points and was a minus-seven in 12 games. Even though Nash’s best hockey might be behind him there is a spot for him on the Bruins roster.

The Boston Bruins’ top line is one of the most electric in all of hockey. David Pastrnak is dynamic offensively, Patrice Bergeron is a top-five center in the game and when Brad Marchand is not licking people he is a talented winger.

Outside of these three, the offensive talent drops off sharply. Ryan Donato looks like he may be the real deal one day. but he isn’t there yet.  After the top three, David Krejci had the highest goal total with 17. Combining Nash’s Rangers performance with his Bruins totals he had 21 goals. Good enough for fourth on the team.

There is a spot for Nash to be a top player on the Bruins’ second line. He would alleviate some of the pressure on the top line and really open up the offense. Pairing him with Ryan Donato would give the Bruins two options of scoring lines and make them much more threatening.

So what would Rick Nash’s new contract look like? He is soon to be 34 years old, meaning his production could be slowing down even more soon. It will be tough for Nash to take less money than what his teammate David Backes is making. At 34 years old, Backes is going to hit the Bruins salary cap for $6,000,000 a year for the next three seasons.

Signing Nash to the same contract would mean that by the 2021 season the Bruins would have $12,000,000 tied to two players older than 35. Not ideal considering they need to pay Donato and Charlie McAvoy in the future, too.

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The Bruins could trade a high salary hit by giving Nash a longer-term deal. An ideal fit for both sides would be a four-year contract for $20,000,000. That is an annual salary cap hit of $5,000,000 — manageable for the Bruins and a good final contract for Nash, who will be 38 by the time it runs out and looking toward retirement. Boston will get their second line winger who will help boost their offense and make them more consistent.