Rick Nash Submits His List of Teams, and the World Blows Up

Why are folks so hot and bothered by Rick Nash’s presumed exodus from Columbus? Have you ever been to Columbus? Have you ever tried playing for the Blue Jackets?

They’re essentially a farm club for other Western Conference powerhouses, or a spot where once-upon-a-time stars can have a brief vacation to get themselves back on their feet. It’s like rehab, but more painful than the Dewey Cox version.

There seems to be an air of middle fingered-ness in regards to Nash, but that attitude of bitterness and “Hey, you should be lucky to play in the NHL! Suck it up!” only hides one very simple fact that makes Nash’s situation far different from Dany Heatley’s, or Dwight Howard’s, or any NBA player’s, really:

The Blue Jackets caused this whole affair.

For his part, Nash attempted to go about this procedure in the right way, but it was GM Scott Howson who catapulted the news to the fawning media and general(ly vicious) public. Folks in Ohio have been spurned lately, anyway, so it wasn’t like they were going to give Rick Nash a pass.

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“Handicapping possible new homes for Rick Nash,” Dan Rosen (NHL.com)

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Many have been ripping him apart for submitting his list of teams – you know, they ones he could accept a trade to – because they feel he should just go wherever will take him, but Nash was asked for his list of teams, and so far he hasn’t made a grand gesture about which clubs those were or why.

Besides, shouldn’t we just give him credit for having the intelligence to sign a contract with a no-trade clause?

And another thing… about that contract:

What’s to say there weren’t promises made to Nash that have been broken, hmm? At the time he signed that monster deal, most folks were pretty skeptical of it, simply because it’s unheard of for a player to want to be in Columbus for that long. No doubt, the Jackets promised him they were moving in the right direction, and that they would commit to him and to his team. He had a great coach, Scott Arniel, who was fired. His goaltender Steve Mason has hit a wall, but those conditions can have as much to do with management and poor coaching as they can with goaltenders.

(Ask Jonas Gustavsson about Toronto, and I’m sure he won’t just talk about Real Sports.)

The fact is, two sides accepted that deal, and Rick Nash has made the effort to fulfill his side of the bargain. Only now, he sees the marriage was a sham, and he’s looking to get out. He tried to do it the right way, but Scott Howson forced his hand down his pants and had razor blades waiting.

A split is best for both parties, but here’s hoping Rick Nash has the best laugh.