What Doan and Nash would mean to the Rangers

According to Larry Brooks, Glen Sather may have the intention of trying to entice Shane Doan and Rick Nash to New York. Should the general manager manage to pull off that coup what would it mean to the Rangers immediate future?

First and foremost, like many others I believe that Shane Doan is a longshot to land on Broadway despite his meeting with Rangers management within the last week. Doan has an obvious preference toward Phoenix and a man that has played in hockey afterthoughts such as Arizona is likely to prefer the western conference than change completely and play in the media capital of the world, New York.

However, assume for a moment that Doan lands in New York and Sather adds Nash through a trade. All of a sudden the Rangers are the Stanley Cup favourite; ahead of Vancouver, ahead of LA, ahead of even Pittsburgh and Philly. With a returning Marian Gaborik, Derek Stepan and of course Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan the Rangers top six would suddenly be stacked with an almost perfect balance of youth and experience, size and skill.

Read more »

Will Kreider vault straight on to the top line?

Rick Nash. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Some people didn’t want Nash at the deadline and those fans got their wish. Until he lands somewhere else however, he will be intensely linked with the Rangers and should they indeed land the uber-talented power forward he’ll be the Rangers de-facto left winger for half a decade.

Enter Chris Kreider. He may have something to say about Nash. In fact, the more big games Kreider has (like the two goal game against Air Force) the less likely it is Glen Sather revisits a possible Nash acquisition. Certainly, the buzz around Kreider in regard to his immediate NHL ability is growing by the game.

Kreider is a man-child that will physically cope with the NHL from day one. However, the Rangers opportunity to win is opening earlier than many anticipated thanks to this season and it’s a legitimate debate to ask what Kreider can bring from day one (and I don’t mean as a guest star in this season’s playoff production).

Look around at some comparables. James Van Riemsdyk and Chris Kreider are both physically similar in stature, both have been strong college performers and both have been hugely anticipated entering the pro ranks. Yet it took van Riemsdyk quite a while to adjust to being a regular contributor at the NHL level and you can argue he joined a more talented team when he joined the Flyers. You could also argue ‘JVR’ still hasn’t quite lived up to his billing consistently.

So what can be expected from Krieder next season? Does the mere presence of world class speed make the difference between his ability to thrive immediately compared to Van Riemsdyk’s entry to the NHL? Will that speed singlehandedly land him a top line assignment and render the Nash debate unnecessary?

Another comparison may be Phil Kessel (bear with me here). Kessel is another player that was strong in the college game and possessed crazy speed as he entered the NHL. Although one dimensional compared to the player Kreider projects to be, many anticipated Kessel’s speed would be the X-factor. It wasn’t and he struggled through an 11 goal, 29 point rookie season.

Kreider appears more mature at this stage of his development. He’s done things his way, at his pace and appears ready for the Rangers. He’s physically better than Kessel and faster than Van Riemsdyk. He’s played at every stage showing improvement and don’t underestimate how his senior internal experience (13 games at World Championships, five points) will help him cope with the pro ranks.

The thing that needs to be remembered however is while Kreider appears ready the Van Riemsdyk and Kessel examples prove that it may not be an overnight success for Kreider. The expectation is huge, the lust after the Cup is growing and Kreider will likely hit some speed bumps along the way.

Is Kreider ready to take over a top six spot on the Rangers? Despite many people expecting it, in all honesty it’s still far too early to tell. So don’t expect the Nash rumours to stop any time soon and let’s not scream mercy the first time Kreider has a two game scoring slump.

Breaking down the Rick Nash rumor

There have been tweets abound about how Columbus Blue Jackets’ General Manager Scott Howson has been at the past two Rangers games. It has been inferred that the Rangers may be after one of Rick Nash or Jeff Carter. We here have started a series called Breaking Down The Rumor, and these tweets have given us an opportunity to look at both Nash and Carter. In separate posts of course. First, we lead off with Nash.

Nash is Columbus’ franchise player, and a great talent. That much we know. What we also know is that Nash is expensive, and not just in what it would cost to acquire him. Nash is making $7.8 million per season (cap hit) until the end of the 2017-2018 season, when he will be 34 years old. Taking a step back, is paying $7.8 million a year for a guy who averages 34 goals a year worth it?

Yes, he may have hit 40 goals twice, but he averages 34 goals a year. He has one season where he didn’t crack 30, and is on pace for another this year. Food for thought.

Looking at the price to acquire him, it is going to be astronomical. Bruce Garrioch stated that the Jackets would ask for Brandon Dubinsky, Chris Kreider, and a first round pick as a start. Naturally, that is a lot to ask for. Dubinsky is the obvious guy that would need to be included, as his $4.2 million cap hit through 2015 would go a long way in helping the Rangers absorb Nash’s cap hit.

Kreider is the guy that most people get hung up on when including him in a trade for pretty much anyone. Many consider him to be untouchable, but we’ve already broken down why no one is ever untouchable. Basically, what the Jackets are asking for in exchange for their franchise player is a good, young roster player, a top prospect, and a first round pick. Steep, but fair.

Are the Rangers better when replacing Dubinsky with Nash? Absolutely. But, with Nash’s extra $3.6 million in salary, and the expiring CBA, the Rangers are likely cautious to take on that much salary. Brandon Prust and Michael Del Zotto need to be re-signed this year, the year after the expiring CBA.

But next year isn’t the issue, it’s the year after. Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov, Carl Hagelin, Ryan McDonagh, and Mike Sauer all need to be re-signed after the 2013-2014 season. Those guys will not come cheap, and that $3 million will mean a lot to the Rangers.

Nash makes the Rangers even better, but it would definitely partially sacrifice some of the future. Plus, do you really think Columbus will trade their franchise player, and the only reason why people come to see the Blue Jackets? I doubt it. But, to be fair, if it’s Dubi/Kreider/1st, in my opinion, I’d take a pretty long look at the deal. Again, it’s steep, but relatively fair.

*Here is the rest of our Trade Deadline coverage.