Nash’s downturn leaves open trade possibility
WELL this sure was a big, fat nothing burger from the Rangers, who never gave themselves much of a chance in what became a 5-2 defeat (bloated by a pair of empty-netters) to the Blackhawks at the Garden on Wednesday.
The Blueshirts rarely possessed the puck while getting out-attempted 30-11 at even strength in the first period and 52-20 through 40 minutes. Ryan McDonagh was the lone Ranger to record a positive Corsi rating (51.4) while nine of his teammates were at sub-40. The game was close only because of Henrik Lundqvist’s brilliance.
Nights like this give pause to the theory that the Rangers have as good a shot as anybody other than Tampa Bay to compete for the Cup. Nights like this remind you, and, more to the point, general manager Jeff Gorton that the Feb. 26 trade deadline is inching into view.
Coach Alain Vigneault moved J.T. Miller onto the top line for the express purpose of jump-starting Mika Zibanejad, who’d struggled through six games since returning on Dec. 19 from a three-week concussion-related absence. Miller is not only a straight-line, pace player who can get in on the forecheck, but he is a give-and-go player who is the best pure passer on the squad.
“Tonight was just a horrible example to refer to, we just couldn’t get it in sync as a team, but I think I can make it easier on him,” Miller told The Post. “We all go through stretches like this, and you know it’s not going to last long with a player as skilled as Mika, but I think that by me using my speed and getting in on the forecheck to win battles, I can get the puck back to him and let him make plays.”
Zibanejad was more engaged against the Blackhawks, indeed scoring on a five-on-three, left-circle power-play one-timer in converting a smooth cross-ice feed from Pavel Buchnevich. No. 93, flanked by Miller and Mats Zuccarello, got his nose dirty around the Chicago net on the few occasions the Blueshirts were able to make life difficult for 32-year-old rookie Jeff Glass.
But if Vigneault’s reasons were sound for pairing Miller with Zibanejad, the coach removed Rick Nash from the top unit in order to accommodate the move. And what exactly does that say about Nash and his value to the team both on the ice and as a pending free-agent rental approaching the deadline?
Nash has slipped back into one of these stretches in which he just does not score. It’s eight games now since No. 61’s ninth and most recent goal late in the third period that won the L.A. game on Dec. 15. He has scored two goals in the last 21 games. And he has checked in with three straight inferior performances following last Wednesday’s monster game against the Caps.
Question: While acknowledging his 200x85 game and importance in the room as a member of the leadership group, is this a player management can hold onto at the deadline if offers including a first-round pick or the equivalent are put across the table?
Or, will the winger’s declining production — 47 goals in 167 games for .28 goals per game the last three seasons following 378 goals in 862 games for .44 GPG his first 12 years — generate lesser deadline offers that Gorton will find easy to refuse?
Seriously, would the Rangers trade Nash for say, the 56th and 95th picks in the draft if that’s the best that’s offered, or would Gorton keep the winger for the playoff push and deal with the winger’s pending free agency following the tournament?
Nash has been a good player for the Rangers but not the gamebreaker management anticipated in sending Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, a first-rounder and Tim Erixon to the Jackets over the summer of 2012. He was supposed to be the missing piece. Instead, he missed his chance by scoring only three goals in the 2014 run to the final that came up short.
This isn’t meant to spark a debate about the wisdom of the trade — listen, even without that deal, Dubinsky was going to be traded — or about Nash’s value measured against his $7.8 million cap hit. This is solely about what lays ahead over the next eight weeks.
Because when the coach looked for a spark on the first line, he did not look in Nash’s direction. And though it is not quite a connect-the-dots scenario, it raises new questions about what direction the Rangers will take at the deadline with No. 61.