Rick Nash Still Not Close to Being Traded, Bruins Reportedly Still on His List of Preferred Teams

by Mike Cole on Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 9:47AM

It's pretty obvious that the Blue Jackets have to trade Rick Nash at this point. It's still extremely unclear, however, where he'll go and when he'll be moved.

Columbus general manager Scott Howson continues to listen to offers for the All-Star forward, but according to the Columbus Dispatch, the process is moving very slowly. The report even speculated that the Blue Jackets may be willing to let this drag out until training camp.

The Dispatch also reports that Howson was hoping that the start of free agency and the ensuing dominoes that would fall (specifically Zach Parise) would set the wheels in motion for a Nash trade. That obviously hasn't been the case yet.

The report also noted that the Bruins are still among a list of teams that Nash would approve a trade to. The Rangers, Red Wings, Penguins, Flyers and Sharks are also on that list, according to the paper.

Of course, the longer this drags on, that list might not matter much, as Nash could just get sick of the whole process and broaden his list of approved teams.

That might need to happen at this point for a deal to go through, but Howson is probably going to have to come down on his asking price as well.

Nash still has six years left on his eight-year, $62.4 million contract, a deal that carries an annual $7.8 million cap hit through the 2017-18 season.