Tough to say goodbye
Planning for trade is torture for Nash
DALLAS — The first step necessary for a Rick Nash trade has been taken, with the Rangers asking for and receiving Nash’s trade list as per the modified no-trade clause in his contract. There are 12 teams to which Nash can be traded.
“It’s disappointing. It sucks. I love being a Ranger. I love being in New York,” Nash said Monday. “But these are the things that happen when your team doesn’t win and they have to make business decisions. But it’s a really disappointing time.”
The Rangers, after Monday’s 2-1 loss to the Stars, are losers of six of their last seven, nine of their last 12 and owning only three regulation wins in their last 19 games. They are in last place in the Metropolitan division and three points out of a playoff spot.
Those circumstances require thinking about the future, but it creates a difficult present for Nash, the venerable veteran whom the Rangers acquired from Columbus before the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season. His preference would be to remain with the Rangers.
“Oh, for sure. 100 percent. No question there,” Nash said. “I love everything that comes along with being a Ranger, living in New York City and playing for the city. No question.”
But this was something Nash, in his 15th NHL season and sixth with the Rangers, was anticipating.
“You’d kind of be stupid to not to, really,” he said. “When you lose games, things are gonna change. I’ve been on the other end of this a lot of times, have seen guys go through it, and now it’s my turn. It’s not a fun feeling but you understand the business situation.”
And yet even as he expected it, the request for his trade list still came as a “shock,” because he couldn’t predict how he’d feel. In considering which teams he’d be willing to go to, he said he thought about teams with the best chance to win the Stanley Cup.
That is something he’s come close to with the Rangers, reaching the Cup Final in 2013-14 and Game 7 of the conference final the following season. Since then, there was a first-round knockout at the hands of Pittsburgh and last year’s self-inflicted secondround exit against Ottawa.
Dreams of a parade down the Canyon of Heroes remain.
“My No. 1 goal is to win a Cup for the Rangers and have a successful season with the Rangers,” Nash said.
Nash will focus on his daily tasks, but there will undoubtedly be difficult days ahead with the trade deadline looming in three weeks. He did not want to fully reflect on his time with the Rangers — during which he has 142 goals and 107 assists in 368 regular-season games and 38 points in 73 postseason games — because, “Sometimes these things don’t happen, and we can move on and everything would be great. I could stay a Ranger, live in New York and it’s the best.” ost difficult is what a trade would mean for his family. Nash and his wife, Jessica, have two young children, and his 3-year-old son, McLaren, loves cheering for the Blueshirts.
“I have no idea how I’m gonna explain to my son that he can’t cheer for the Rangers,” Nash said. “That definitely went through my head. Every time he sees a goal he starts singing the song. It’s tough, but it’s the reality. It’s the business side of it. When you go through certain things of where you can end up, you definitely think about your family and kids, and the best situation to win. It’s tough.”
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