Rick Nash Reportedly Heading to the Rangers; Has Glen Sather Finally Resurrected His Image?

After months and months of looming rumors and speculation, the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers have finally formulated a plan to bring Rick Nash to Broadway.

The news broke around 2:30 PM on July 23, as Twitter feeds began erupting with news of a trade going down. The details slowly came up, and it would appear that Glen Sather has once again worked his trade magic and landed a good player for a nearly bargain-bin price. The trade will involve Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first-round pick for the right-wing Nash. All of these players combined equaled what Rick Nash managed to do in the NHL last season, as he did have one of his worst years, with 30 goals and nearly 60 points on the worst team in the NHL.

Many fans, including myself, were looking at this trade through the spaces in between their fingers, as the worst was feared that perhaps Derek Stepan, Marc Staal, or even Chris Kreider would be involved with the trade. But GM Scott Howson was the first to blink in this staring match, and he needed to do something soon. And this is what we were left with. And it's pretty good.



Of course, we will never know the repercussions of this trade until the season actually starts, but on paper right now, it looks like the Rangers have a good thing going. Nash's cap-hit is almost equal to all of the player involved, which leaves the Rangers with still some room to get another second-line player (cough*Shane Doan*cough), and the ability to move players who are already in the system. Carl Hagelin can be moved to the 2nd line so he can get his feet under him, and he won't be rushed.

The big question I have about this trade doesn't involve Rick Nash or any of the players involved. It involves the man who made this trade happen, general manager Glen Sather. As Rangers fans, we've seen some abominations of players signed with this team like Scott Gomez and Wade Redden to name a few, and even in 2010 there was a rally in NYC to fire the GM. But now, in the summer of 2012, after swindling Montreal out of Ryan McDonagh, and now the Nash trade, could the case be made that now Glen Sather isn't as bad as he has been to the team in the past? Only time will tell.

Let us hope for a good year this year, Rangers fans. Let us hope that this is the final cog needed to elevate this team to the promise-land. Let us hope for a smooth season, and more growth within the team. Rangers fans have been given a lot of hope today, now go enjoy it.