Rick Nash “100%” gone, plus latest on McDonagh sweeps

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Rick Nash was held out of last night’s contest and in his post game presser, Alain Vigneault stated he will be kept out of the lineup again tonight. Michael Grabner was also held out last night and was traded with minutes of the game’s completion.

Done Deal

Elliotte Friedman said on radio this morning, “I think Nash is close to 100 percent.” To be honest, this was a foregone conclusion the moment the Rangers requested Nash’s no trade list.

Nashville is still the most likely destination (GM Poile has indeed kicked the tires), even though Boston also appears keenly interested. Keep your ears open for any noise from Dallas and St. Louis too. Another very interesting scenario could be a big deal where both Nash and McDonagh end up in Toronto in a blockbuster.

McDonagh Sweeps

Ryan McDonagh has not played a game for the Rangers since February 7th. Per the team he’s out with an upper body injury and has been nursing issues all year. He has just started practicing but the Rangers will not let him in the lineup prior to the trade deadline…if he is still here.

The top 3 teams are reportedly ALL IN on McDonagh. Tampa, Boston, and Toronto have all been confirmed with Pierre Lebrun saying 2 other teams are in the mix also. Those other 2 teams are most likely in the Western Conference. The key here is that the top 3 are all in the same division.

McDonagh is going to draw a huge return to the team that believes he is the missing piece for a long playoff run, both this season and next. Per Elliotte Friedman, he believes offers are already on the table. A good GM will take these offers back to each team and pit them all against one another to maximize return.

Oddly enough, as I mentioned earlier, some of these teams are interested in Rick Nash too. Could Nash and McDonagh be packaged in the same deal? It is a possibility you can’t rule out.

One thing is for certain, this rebuild has begun and if the fire sale continues…it’s for real.

 

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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