Does Rick Nash Make Sense in Philadelphia?
The league is buzzing around Columbus Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash as the February 27th trade deadline approaches. There have been various reports of several different teams being considered as players in the sweepstakes for the All-Star 27 year-old right winger, and the Flyers have been rumored to be on that list.
Let’s look at it from a hockey standpoint. What Flyers fan wouldn’t want to see Nash in the Orange and Black? The answer is not many. He’s one of the younger, most dynamic forwards in game that consistently puts up big numbers despite never (and in 9 seasons I can’t name a solid center he’s played alongside) having anyone noteworthy on his line.
His 19 goals and 21 assists are certainly down numbers for him at this point in the season over his career (he’s scored more than 30 goals in 6 of his 8 full seasons in the NHL, and is on pace to get close to that number again this year). Here are his career stats, courtesy of NHL.com:
CAREER REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS
| SEASON | TEAM | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | TORONTO MARLBOROS-GTHL | 34 | 61 | 54 | 115 | 34 | ||||||
| 2000-2001 | LONDON KNIGHTS-OHL | 58 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 56 | ||||||
| 2000-2001 | CANADA-U-18 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | ||||||
| 2001-2002 | LONDON KNIGHTS-OHL | 54 | 32 | 40 | 72 | -16 | 88 | 15 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2001-2002 | CANADA-WJC-A | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||||
| 2002-2003 | BLUE JACKETS | 74 | 17 | 22 | 39 | -27 | 78 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 154 | 11.0 |
| 2003-2004 | BLUE JACKETS | 80 | 41 | 16 | 57 | -35 | 87 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 269 | 15.2 |
| 2004-2005 | HC DAVOS-SWISS | 44 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 83 | ||||||
| 2004-2005 | CANADA-WC-A | 9 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 8 | ||||||
| 2005-2006 | BLUE JACKETS | 54 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 5 | 51 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 170 | 18.2 |
| 2005-2006 | CANADA-OLYMPICS | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||||||
| 2006-2007 | BLUE JACKETS | 75 | 27 | 30 | 57 | -8 | 73 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 228 | 11.8 |
| 2006-2007 | CANADA-WC-A | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 2007-2008 | BLUE JACKETS | 80 | 38 | 31 | 69 | 2 | 95 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 329 | 11.6 |
| 2007-2008 | CANADA-WC-A | 9 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | ||||||
| 2008-2009 | BLUE JACKETS | 78 | 40 | 39 | 79 | 11 | 52 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 263 | 15.2 |
| 2009-2010 | BLUE JACKETS | 76 | 33 | 34 | 67 | -2 | 58 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 254 | 13.0 |
| 2009-2010 | CANADA-OLYMPICS | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| 2010-2011 | BLUE JACKETS | 75 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 2 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 305 | 10.5 |
| 2010-2011 | CANADA-WC-A | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2011-2012 | BLUE JACKETS | 59 | 19 | 21 | 40 | -23 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 226 | 8.4 |
| NHL TOTALS | 651 | 278 | 250 | 528 | -75 | 558 | 81 | 12 | 43 | 2,198 | 12.6 |
But the real question is this: Do the Flyers really need more help on offense? And what is it going to cost to bring in Rick Nash?
Do the Flyers need more scoring?
The Flyers, through 58 games played, rank 1st in the league with 3.31 goals per game. That’s certainly not something we were expecting heading into this season. In trading the likes of Richards, Carter, Leino, and Versteeg, we were expected to have a drop off in offensive production.
Obviously, that’s not the case.
It was supposed to be our stout defense and new franchise goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov that would win us the close games.
Obviously, that’s not the case either. The Flyers rank 24th in the league with a dismal 2.97 goals against per game, and Ilya Bryzgalov has certainly underperformed thus far, posting a 20-11-6 record, a .900 sv% and a 2.79 GAA through 40 games played.
Enter two of the newest Flyers, two 6’4″ porch clearing, shot blocking, physical defenseman in Nicklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina that were brought in to fill the void of the fallen Chris Pronger and bolster the defense in front of both Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky. The best part of the trades that brought in the those two guys? They only cost the team a handful of picks and an AHLer (John Kalinski) that was never going to see NHL ice.
The point I’m trying to make is that scoring may not necessarily be the issue the Flyers needed to correct. Would it hurt to have Rick Nash on your team? Not at all. Would I like to see him in orange and black? Yes, if the price was right. From the looks of it, that’s not going to be the case.
What will Rick Nash cost?
There hasn’t been a confirmed asking price for Nash and like we mentioned before, the Flyers aren’t the only speculated team inquiring about the services of Columbus’s captain.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported via Twitter that a possible trade between the two teams would include Rick Nash for James van Riemsdyk, Sergei Bobrovsky, and either Brayden Schenn or Sean Couturier. Other reports suggested that Columbus wanted both Couturier and Schenn. Paul Holmgren has already said he wasn’t interested in dealing Schenn or Couturier, and if I’m Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson, I want one if not both. So that could eliminate the Flyers from the Nash running altogether.
Keep in mind, all of these trade possibilities are pure speculation. I personally think the price of acquiring Rick Nash would be too high, especially if it involves mortgaging our future. This team is set up to be a power house for the next 5+ years, especially after the moves into the offseason to bring in the youth we did.
It doesn’t make sense to trade away future cornerstones of your franchise to bring in a guy, while one of the biggest talents in the league, that would be filling an area the Flyers dont’ need to improve.
Plus, the asking price for Nash might not be worth it for not only the Flyers, or the other teams involved.
Check this out. Darren Dreger was asked about the possibility of Nash being dealt in his latest mailbag:
“Some teams who believe they are in the mix are growing frustrated because they’re not getting a clear indication from the Blue Jackets as to what it will take to move the process along.
For those who feel that way, perhaps they’re not as close to being in contention for Nash as they might wish. This is such a mammoth trade – in terms of impact on the Blue Jackets and the city of Columbus – and the complexity of establishing Nash’s trade value even to the fortunate few believed to be involved, that time is a huge issue. Ten days may not be enough to swing a deal that will impact this team for years to come.”
So I’ll leave it up to you guys. Do you think it’s worth it for the Flyers to acquire Rick Nash? Do you think they need him? And are you more confident about the team moving forward with the recent acquisitions on the blue line?
