After months of pursuit through the trade deadline and draft weekend, New York finally landed the high-scoring forward in a trade with the Blue Jackets on Monday. And the Rangers did so without having to surrender any of the key young players Columbus had coveted. Ryan McDonagh, Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan will all now become teammates of Nash rather than trade chips needed to acquire him.

The Rangers are now loaded up front with Nash joining the likes of Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Kreider and Stepan in a formidable top six. Add in some solid role players like Brian Boyle, Carl Hagelin, Arrom Asham, Mike Rupp, Jeff Halpern and Taylor Pyatt for the bottom six, a defense led by McDonagh, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto and reigning Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist in goal and New York has the makings of a tough team to get past in the East. For this year anyway.

The Rangers even have more than $13 million left in cap space for the upcoming season, with only restricted free agent defensemen Del Zotto and Anton Stralman left unsigned. That could give them the chance to add even more this offseason. They remain in contention to sign free agent forward Shane Doan, who recently visited with the team and would really upgrade the size, skill and experience up front in conjunction with Nash.

But this year isn’t the issue. It’s New York’s long-term prospects that could tip this trade from a huge win for the Rangers to a more complicated result. Despite their ample cap space at the moment, Nash’s $7.8 million cap hit through 2017-18 could cause some complications as the Rangers’ other key players come due for new deals in the coming years.

Those key assets they kept out of the trade will still cost the Rangers, with McDonagh and Stepan scheduled to become restricted free agents after this upcoming season and Kreider’s entry-level deal up after next year. That summer of 2014 will also see Lundqvist, Gaborik, Callahan and Girardi become unrestricted free agents, while Staal is a UFA in 2015.

That’s a lot of big contracts to hand out in the next couple years, especially if changes in the new collective bargaining agreement currently being negotiated end up lowering the cap or eliminating the ability to store bad contracts in the minors to escape the cap hit. That latter issue could be particularly troublesome for the Rangers, who have kept Wade Redden and his $6.5 million cap hit in the AHL the last two years. That contract runs through 2013-14, so it could come back to haunt them in the near future if such loopholes are closed.

Nash’s team-high $7.8 million cap hit could become an albatross as well, especially if his production declines as he gets into his 30s. Nash, 28, has already shown some signs of that, with his numbers declining slightly in each of the last three seasons. He’s dropped from 40 goals and a career-best 79 points in 2008-09 to just 30 goals and 59 points this past season. Some of that decline could be the result of his dissatisfaction with his situation in Columbus and the lack of talent around him, but it’s also possible that the wear and tear of nine seasons in the NHL as a power forward is taking its toll as well and that trend could continue even playing for a contender in New York.

That $7.8 million a year price tag won’t be too appealing if Nash’s goal totals slip down into the 20s and that cap hit keeps the Rangers from being able to retain all of its rising young talent.

That’s a problem for tomorrow though. Today, the Rangers stand to be a better team with the addition of Nash without the loss of any of their key foundation pieces. And if Nash can push the Rangers over the top, they’ll gladly deal with the long-term consequences if and when they come.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Mike Rupp

Well, consider the pot stirred.

Rupp looked like a man on a mission when he took the ice with the Rangers trailing 3-0 in the third period of Monday's Game 4. He roughed up Steve Bernier at the faceoff circle, dropped Peter Harrold behind the net and gave Anton Volchenkov a decent push. Rupp's hands were dirtied, however, when he "punched" Devils netminder Martin Brodeur.

But although contact like that on Brodeur isn't exactly within the boundaries of the rules, any advocate of a suspension is just being unreasonable.

Rupp is a high-energy grinder; someone who's called upon to deliver hits, mix it up and get under the opponent's skin. Sometimes that requires some post-whistle extracurriculars, which are a fundamental part of any physical hockey team.

That's not to say there isn't a line that can be crossed. There certainly is. But to say Rupp crossed that line by making contact with Brodeur would be the epitome of softening the game.

Brendan Shanahan has been one of the NHL's most visible figures this season, largely because of his heavy-handed ways in terms of suspensions. He's proven inconsistent at times, but for the most part, any lengthy bans have been the result of players failing to realize what is and isn't acceptable when it comes to physical hockey. That's why we still see deliberate head shots — like Brandon Prust's on Volchenkov in Game 3 — and players leaving their feet to send others face-first into the boards.

Rupp's so-called punch, however, is harmless in the grand scheme of things. It isn't legal, is rather dirty and is sure to get players coming after him, but in no way is it a suspendable offense. Yet, the word "suspension" was actually muttered and tweeted in the wake of the incident.

It's hard to accuse Brodeur of flopping, because, really, few goaltenders expect to get hit out of the blue like that. But the reaction seemed a bit much for the amount of contact that was made. We're talking about a player in Rupp who had 13 fighting majors during the regular season, so if he wanted to truly get his money's worth, he could have sent an unsuspecting Brodeur flying into next week.

That was hardly the intention, though. The intention instead seemed like it was to start a scrum, ruffle some feathers and hope it fires up the rest of the team. Even though the game seemed well within the Devils' grasp at that point, the Rangers were in need of a jolt to carry over into Game 5, so Rupp — doing his job — took it upon himself to be the catalyst that provides that jolt.

The dust-up also seemed far worse than it actually was because of the reaction of the two head coaches, who jawed at each from their respective benches after Rupp's blow.

Brodeur said after the game that he doesn't expect Rupp to be suspended, and we shouldn't either. For as much flak as Shanahan often gets for coming down hard on players for certain hits, it's at least understandable that he's trying to cut down on the amount of injuries at a time when concussions have become such a hot-button issue. Slapping Rupp with any discipline aside from a penalty would mean Shanahan's suddenly become drunk with power, and that likely isn't going to happen.

Rupp makes a living off creating some occasional havoc, as do plenty of other notable NHL tough guys. If we're going to start suspending them all for minor altercations like Monday's, then we might as well remove their type of role from hockey altogether.

And that, my friends, would be ludicrous.

The Rangers forward delivered what appeared to be a deliberate elbow to the head of Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov during Saturday's Game 3. And while we've definitely seen worse — many times throughout these Stanley Cup playoffs, in fact — that does little to justify letting Prust slide in this instance.

The incident in question occurred when Prust and Volchenkov both went hard after the puck along the boards during the second period. Volchenkov had position on Prust, and the potential for plenty of contact was there, but the Rangers forward couldn't have played the situation any more poorly.

Rather than pulling up or delivering a good clean hit — which may have been difficult given the way Volchenkov was positioned along the boards — Prust went out of his way to throw what looks to be a blatant elbow. Even if it wasn't blatant, it sure seemed that way, which is all that will matter when Prust pleads his case before Brendan Shanahan, assuming the Department of Player Safety takes another look at the hit.

Not only should Shanahan take a look at the hit, which surprisingly didn't result in a penalty, but he'll need to come down on Prust with some sort of discipline. Failing to do so would demonstrate even more inconsistency than we've already seen from the league disciplinarian in his first season in the position.

The fact that Prust wasn't penalized on the play won't be a determinant in the decision-making process. After all, Raffi Torres wasn't even penalized for his hit on Marian Hossa, and we all saw how that situation ended. But the fact that no penalty was called on either play is a bit alarming. The league has made it a point to crack down on head shots, yet there's still a bit of disconnect when it comes to suppressing such hits during the natural flow of the action. On-ice officials certainly miss calls from time to time, but Prust's elbow looked fairly obvious, as his arm was extended a ways away from his body.

In any event, the head was the "principal point of contact," which is a phrase hockey fans have been exposed to time and time again in Shanahan's nifty little suspension videos this season. And when the league determines that to be the case, the player typically gets slapped with some sort of suspension.

Prust may only get one game for his hit on Volchenkov, or he could three to five. That's up to Shanahan to determine. What's perfectly clear, though, is that the elbow was a cheap shot and a play that certainly warrants some sort of punishment.

That honor fell to the raucous start to the game at Madison Square Garden between the Rangers and Devils, who engaged in a wild line brawl three seconds after the opening faceoff.

It might be even harder for hockey fans from all markets to believe that the league is actually considering new rules to make sure such excitement never takes place again.

The Devils and Rangers capped a series of intense, physical clashes between the Atlantic Division rivals this season with a tone-setting donnybrook to open their matchup on Monday. As the visiting team, the Devils had to submit their starting lineup first, and New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer opted to open with fourth-line bangers Eric Boulton, Cam Janssen and Ryan Carter. Rangers coach John Tortorella countered with his tough guys, starting Mike Rupp and Brandon Prust on the wings and even moving defenseman Stu Bickel up to center to take the opening draw.

Just three seconds after the faceoff, three fights broke out simultaneously as Boulton battled Rupp, Janssen tangled with Prust, and Carter traded punches with Bickel, all to the delight of the MSG crowd.

The bouts fired up the rest of the players on both sides as well, with the Rangers ultimately prevailing 4-2 in a possible playoff preview. The fights also drew approval from players around the league.

The Canadian Press collected a sampling of reactions to the brawling, which included Montreal forward Brad Staubitz noting, "It is an exciting part of hockey," and Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic adding, "As a fan of hockey, I thought it was pretty cool."

Isles teammate John Tavares, a skilled center not exactly known for pugilism (one fight in 233 career games in NHL), even gave the increasingly rare display of mayhem a thumbs up.

"I can understand [it] from both those teams, playing against them a lot and being in the New York area and what those rivalries are like," Tavares told the Canadian Press. "You don't see that so much anymore, a few fights right off the draw like that. It really brings the intensity and the passion into the game."

It's not surprising that players would so universally support Monday's scraps. A recently released Sports Illustrated players poll found 99.5 percent of players opposed a ban of fighting in the game, with just one player in favor of eliminating fighting.

Fan polls consistently reveal similar support. But the voices of the guys who actually play the game and the paying customers that actually make the business a success often appear to mean little to the league's decision-makers.

This incident produced the usual hysteria from the anti-fighting zealots, and now the league is reportedly considering implementing new rules to prevent further outbreaks of such entertainment. The model for the new restrictions would be the rule put in place in 2005 that adds automatic suspensions to players and fines to coaches for instigating fights in the final five minutes of regulation.

That was a poorly conceived idea on its own that puts a separate set of rules in place depending on how much time is left on the clock. It also eliminated one of the things that made hockey unique, in that the potential for the occasional scrap out of frustration or to send a message for the next meeting meant that, unlike other sports, fans rarely left early or switched the channel late in a blowout. But hey, why would a league want people to actually watch their product in its entirety?

Games like Monday also show why hockey is one sport you never want to show up late for. But the NHL is considering taking care of that, too. Fans might not have to worry about battling traffic or finding parking anymore, with league executive vice president Colin Campbell telling ESPN.com that the same kind of punishments used to curtail fighting at the end of games could also be applied to the start of the contests.

And yes, that is the father of Bruins center Gregory Campbell, whose bout with Steve Ott sparked a series of three fights in the opening four seconds of last year's clash with Dallas. Garden fans made their desire never to see such a spectacle again known with a loud and lengthy standing ovation for the combatants.

"What we did with the competition committee coming out of the lockout, we crafted a new rule at the end of the game," Campbell told ESPN.com. "We put the onus on the coach and the player.

"If the GMs find this [line brawl Tuesday night] unacceptable, maybe we'd craft it the same way at the start of the game, put the onus on both the player and the coach? Or you'd have to find a current interpretation of the rulebook," Campbell said.

That would be a ridiculous overreaction to an event that players and fans have no issue with, other than some fair complaints that such activities don't happen often enough anymore.

Fighting has already declined dramatically in recent years, with this season seeing a particularly sharp drop. Stat keepers at hockeyfights.com have fights down to just 0.45 a game, with just 35.4 percent of games featuring a fight. That's down from 0.52 fights a game and 37.2 percent of games with fights last season, and 0.64 fights a game and 41.1 percent of games having a fight in the final year before the lockout in 2003-04.

Despite the decline, fighting remains an integral part of the NHL game, providing an outlet for frustrations less dangerous than the stick-swinging alternatives, a way to hold players accountable for questionable actions on the ice and an effective means of changing momentum.

And yes, it is also an important component of the overall entertainment package for many fans.

These incidents are rare enough. The last thing the NHL needs is even more rules put in place to limit them further.

Click here to see Monday's Rangers-Devils line brawl >>

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Ottawa captain is out indefinitely with a concussion.

But fans in New York got to see Wojtek Wolski play Monday in the Rangers' 5-2 win over San Jose. They can see him again Thursday against Anaheim, Saturday against Montreal and Sunday against Winnipeg. Ottawa fans will even get to see Wolski next Wednesday when the Rangers visit. They can only hope Alfredsson will be back on the ice by then.

It was Wolski who elbowed Alfredsson in the head when the clubs last met on Saturday. Wolski received a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head, but no further discipline from the league.

It should be shocking that the NHL's new czar of discipline Brendan Shanahan didn't find cause for further discipline when he's spent his first couple months in the position handing out suspensions like candy to trick-or-treaters.

But then again, to be shocked by the league's inaction on what should have been a slam-dunk example of enforcing the revamped Rule 48 — governing shots to the head — would entail forgetting the league's long history of inconsistency in discipline. That was supposed to change with Shanahan in charge, but it's becoming clear that it's still business as usual in the NHL offices.

The lack of a suspension to Wolski and also to Anaheim's Francois Beauchemin for a hit on Nashville's Mike Fisher has led to renewed confusion about the league's stance on head shots. Fisher responded to a report of the Senators being upset with the Wolski decision by Rogers Sportsnet's Ian Mendes by tweeting to Mendes, "[P]layers are really confused. I'm out because of a similar play and no dice as well. I don't get it!"

Some of that confusion could be caused by the apparent continued double standard of discipline in the league, where a player's role on the team often appears to factor into the decision more than his actions in the incident in question.

Wolski isn't an enforcer or tough guy. Despite his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame, he provides little in the way of physical presence, except apparently for the occasional sneaky elbow at a vulnerable opponent.

Shanahan had no trouble throwing the book at the likes of heavyweights and frequent fighters like Jody Shelley, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Brad Staubitz and Daniel Carcillo, but a player like Wolski with one fighting major in 398 career games skates free.

And it's not as if Wolski really deserves the star treatment. He's yet to score a goal this year in five games and was a healthy scratch once already this season despite a $3.8-million cap hit.

Shanahan has been more than willing to suspend other players, already handing out 13 bans totaling 28 preseason and 39 regular-season games, with more pending as the final length of Edmonton defenseman Andy Sutton (45 career fights, including three already this season) has yet to be announced. Sutton had an in-person hearing with Shanahan on Monday for his check to the head of Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog on Friday.

The fact that the NHL is trying to crack down on the dangerous head shots and hits from behind is laudable. But unless Shanahan is willing to apply the standard fairly to all players regardless of their roles or reputations, it won't have the desired effect of taking such cheap shots out of the game.

"I thought in preseason some of the suspensions made it very clear the stand we were going to take," Senators general manager Bryan Murray told the Ottawa Sun. "I'll have a chance at the GM meeting in mid-November to discuss it further with Brendan, but at this moment I'm not exactly sure what is a suspendable hit to the head."

In the meantime, NHL fans will be deprived of seeing Alfredsson having a chance to add to his impressive career totals of 393 goals and 1,030 points for the indefinite future.

But at least they'll get plenty of chances to see Wolski try for his first goal of the season, or maybe even try to get away with another cheap shot.