However (LA), it didn't get the biggest big-time player. Nash is still with the Columbus Blue Jackets. And there's one less team in the market for him. It's a market that looks like it's shaping into a three-horse race, even more reason to wait until the offseason if you're Columbus GM Scott Howson. But if Columbus is still looking to move Nash, these options remain the three to watch:
New York Rangers: Suddenly the Rangers emerge as the Nash favorites. Perhaps adding Johnson means Howson will come off his believed demands of one of New York's defensemen -- either Michael Del Zotto or Ryan McDonagh. But it's unlikely. If Carter can land an established young defenseman in Johnson along with a first-round pick, the asking price for Nash will be exponentially more. And that doesn't even get into the prospects New York will have to put in the deal to make it happen. One NHL executive I spoke with said he would include Chris Kreider in a deal for Nash but wouldn't feel great about it. "He's a real prospect. He's going to be good," he said, adding that the first time he saw him skate it was like "he shot out of a cannon."
San Jose Sharks: San Jose has lost five of six games, and GM Doug Wilson has consistently said he won't let the team's struggles influence his deadline decisions. But it has to be concerning for a franchise whose window to win is now. Joe Thornton knows Nash well, and the two would make an unbelievable duo, giving Nash a center to play with unlike any he's seen in his NHL career. "He's a great player," Thornton said of Nash when we chatted about him last weekend. "Everybody knows that. He's definitely elite and very dynamic. He's definitely a great player." With fewer high-end prospects to deal, the name rumored to be headed to Columbus is Joe Pavelski, which is a lot to give up for Nash, considering Pavelski has been one of San Jose's most consistent playoff producers.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Toronto has to be considered the wild card in this one and probably a bit of a long shot. If the Leafs' play of late has indicated anything, it's that Brian Burke's focus should be in goal rather than on adding another forward. But Nash would give Burke the size up front his team needs and the kind of size he would love to add before Monday's deadline. "He's a big man with some bite," is one way an NHL scout described Nash, exactly the kind of guy Burke fancies. It also would sap the Leafs of much if not all of the young talent Burke and his staff have done a good job accumulating over the past couple of years.
