After the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from the playoffs, General Manager Chuck Fletcher told reporters, “We need to upgrade our personnel, I need to bring in a player or two, if we can, to help upgrade the talent of our team.”
Now, NBC Sports reports that New York Rangers forward Rick Nash could be on his way out of New York, and the Digital Journal reports that the Wild could be a good fit for the forward.
Nash dealt with two injuries that limited him to 60 games last season, but he still scored 15 goals and recorded 36 points. The 31-year-old is also just a year removed from a 42-goal campaign.
The biggest hurdle however is his contract, Nash has a $7.8 million cap hit for two more seasons.
What can Minnesota offer?
The Wild have depth on the blue line and could move regulars such as: Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin or Matt Dumba. Minnesota could also dangle one their young blue liners such as: Mike Reilly and Gustav Olofsson, who are entering a time in their careers where they could be regulars in the NHL.
Speaking of teams moving on from veterans, the Wild could move on from Thomas Vanek who is due $6.5 million in the final year of his contract after two underachieving seasons.
A straight up trade for Vanek and Nash is extremely unlikely but he still could be dangled as extra bait in a possible trade.
Are the Rangers shopping Rick Nash? The #NHLLive team breaks down the recent rumors. https://t.co/34wHPeG3bg
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 24, 2016
With @FriedgeHNIC reporting that Rick Nash might be available this summer…This might put NYR in the Stamkos bidding war.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) May 22, 2016
