Rick Nash carries a $7.8 million cap hit for two more seasons

Rick Nash carries a $7.8 million cap hit for two more seasons

It still remains possible, maybe even likely that the Rangers just aren’t quite ready to hand Dylan McIlrath or Brady Skjei a full-time job yet and want to maintain a veteran presence on the blueline for this playoff run, with the knowledge that Marc Staal and/or Dan Girardi must go following the season. And while many fans are concerned that neither player would have any suitors, last week’s Dion Phaneuf blockbuster (and the David Clarkson deal before that) should provide ample evidence that there’s no such thing as an untradeable contract.

But if management can’t – or perhaps more accurately, won’t unload one of the veteran blueliners for some ungodly reason, then moving Rick Nash during the offseason is an alternative.

The top priorities for the front office over the next several months should be to clear enough cap space to re-sign Keith Yandle and to retool the lineup in an effort to once again create a realistic Stanley Cup contender.

Dealing Nash could accomplish both. He carries the second-highest cap hit on the team at $7.8 million annually and will be 32 years old in June with two more years on his contract when he can be expected to perform at a high level. So unlike Staal or Girardi, Nash could still command a hefty return.

If trading Nash could net the Blueshirts a younger, more cost-efficient top-six winger, a top prospect or pick and the money to retain Yandle as well as the cap flexibility to keep the core intact…well then it’s something to consider.

There are parallels to the Marian Gaborik trade of 2013, which netted the Blueshirts Derick Brassard, John Moore and Derek Dorsett. Obviously only Brassard remains, but the deal helped replenish depth and revitalize the lineup without sacrificing success.

Nash is a unique talent and a very important player, but he’s not quite as irreplaceable as Yandle. The Blueshirts have been looking for a puck mover of Yandle’s ilk for years, and while their use of him has been inexplicable, Yandle is still not someone they can afford to lose. But if the Blueshirts could add a top-six forward through a trade and Pavel Buchnevich to the lineup next year, they could replace much of Nash’s offensive production.

Again, it makes no sense for the club to willingly choose to deal Nash instead of one of the over-the-hill D-men. But common sense has been out the window for a while with the handling of the rearguard, and if it still doesn’t prevail this summer, then something as outlandish as trading Nash to keep Yandle might become a real possibility.

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