Columbus Blue Jackets senior advisor Craig Patrick contends, that’s Rick Nash staying with Columbus still a very real possibility:

“Rick might be with us the rest of his career, we don’t know,” Patrick told ESPN’s Craig Custance. “He’s really a great guy, a good captain. He really cares about the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Columbus market. He’s the epitome of a guy you want on your team.”

Patrick notes that they won’t deal their captain if they don’t get what they want in return. However, the fact remains that Nash wants to play for a winning team at some point, and the Jackets’ best shot of building that team may materialize if they deal him. It’s likely that potential trade partners will be willing to explore more deals once the summer hits and they have a better idea of just how badly they need a player of Nash’s caliber. So, while Columbus is technically still an option, it’s hard to consider the Blue Jackets the front-runner.


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