Rick Nash potentially available

[Corn Flake]

The questions I have are..

Does Rick Nash, along with better goaltending, help us this year in our fight for a playoff berth?

I say absolutely.

Agreed, but just to add a scenario...  Rick Nash, without better goaltending and this team doesn't get in. 

Rick Nash + better goaltending = playoffs plus a chance to do a lot more damage than first thought.  I think he would raise the water level enough to give the Leafs a hope in the first round.

Nash represents a short and long-term boost to the plan for sure.  He wouldn't save this team on his own this year though.

 

[Redleaf]

The questions I have are..

Does Rick Nash, along with better goaltending, help us this year in our fight for a playoff berth?

I say absolutely.

Agreed, but just to add a scenario...  Rick Nash, without better goaltending and this team doesn't get in. 

Rick Nash + better goaltending = playoffs plus a chance to do a lot more damage than first thought.  I think he would raise the water level enough to give the Leafs a hope in the first round.

Nash represents a short and long-term boost to the plan for sure.  He wouldn't save this team on his own this year though.

Absolutely. Burke must address the goaltending issue regardless. If he can get a Nabokov and Nash this team could go on a tear leading up to and going into the playoffs.

I know that is a LOT to ask for, but stranger things have happened, and Burke likes to swing for the fences. This is really the first time he's had enough depth to do something really big. Should be interesting to see what goes down.

I just really, really hope the Rangers don't get Nash. I'd rather see him stay a Blue Jacket than become yet another big fish hanging over Glen Sather's mantle piece.

 

[Deebo]

Thanks for the correction...... again..... . 5 of the last 7 they have had a 1st round pick and only 3 times in the last decade have they not.  For a team that trades them away as much as they do, that's pretty interesting.

Yeah, they had done well with it until recently, and, well, the depth of their system really shows the strain of that approach. There's not much there that isn't already on their NHL roster.

But honestly, who cares about that?

It's like the Tampa Bay Rays.  Everyone loved their prospect system for years... they developed quite a few, and many of them made it... then some people started saying "well they don't have a great system anymore."  WELL OBVIOUSLY!  They all graduated!

The Flyers have Giroux, Read, Couturier, Schenn, Simmonds, and JVR all 24 or younger.  I mean... come on.  You can forgive them if they dont have anything coming up the pipeline in a year considering they have 6 of them currently on their NHL roster with a high watermark for their ceiling.

Read will be 26 in June.

 

[Zee]

The questions I have are..

Does Rick Nash, along with better goaltending, help us this year in our fight for a playoff berth?

I say absolutely.

Agreed, but just to add a scenario...  Rick Nash, without better goaltending and this team doesn't get in. 

Rick Nash + better goaltending = playoffs plus a chance to do a lot more damage than first thought.  I think he would raise the water level enough to give the Leafs a hope in the first round.

Nash represents a short and long-term boost to the plan for sure.  He wouldn't save this team on his own this year though.

Absolutely. Burke must address the goaltending issue regardless. If he can get a Nabokov and Nash this team could go on a tear leading up to and going into the playoffs.

I know that is a LOT to ask for, but stranger things have happened, and Burke likes to swing for the fences. This is really the first time he's had enough depth to do something really big. Should be interesting to see what goes down.

I just really, really hope the Rangers don't get Nash. I'd rather see him stay a Blue Jacket than become yet another big fish hanging over Glen Sather's mantle piece.

I really hope Burke can bring in a significant goalie to help, if nothing else.  We need someone, I think Nabokov would be a great option for the final 20 games.

 

[Corn Flake]

Chris Cuthbert just issued a reminder of what Rick Nash is like in big hockey games... the old Bryzgalov quote (maybe his first gem) describing Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics were "like gorillas coming out of a cage".  Nash formed 1/3 of the line that obliterated the Ovechkin line that amazing day. 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/article/943834--canada-crushes-russia-like-gorillas-coming-out-of-a-cage

 

[Zee]

Chris Cuthbert just issued a reminder of what Rick Nash is like in big hockey games... the old Bryzgalov quote (maybe his first gem) describing Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics were "like gorillas coming out of a cage".  Nash formed 1/3 of the line that obliterated the Ovechkin line that amazing day. 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/article/943834--canada-crushes-russia-like-gorillas-coming-out-of-a-cage

Can the Leafs also get the other 2/3rds of that line?

 

[Kin]

Without Lundqvist I say the Rangers aren't nearly as good as they are.  Put Lundqvist on the Leafs and we'd be in a playoff spot today.

You could probably say that about any good team and their best player.

 

[Zee]

Without Lundqvist I say the Rangers aren't nearly as good as they are.  Put Lundqvist on the Leafs and we'd be in a playoff spot today.

You could probably say that about any good team and their best player.

My point is the Leafs need a goalie of that caliber.  Great goalies can mask a lot of deficiencies.  It's the difference between the Leafs being an 8th-10th team to a 5th-6th team.

 

[Erndog]

Thanks for the correction...... again..... . 5 of the last 7 they have had a 1st round pick and only 3 times in the last decade have they not.  For a team that trades them away as much as they do, that's pretty interesting.

Yeah, they had done well with it until recently, and, well, the depth of their system really shows the strain of that approach. There's not much there that isn't already on their NHL roster.

But honestly, who cares about that?

It's like the Tampa Bay Rays.  Everyone loved their prospect system for years... they developed quite a few, and many of them made it... then some people started saying "well they don't have a great system anymore."  WELL OBVIOUSLY!  They all graduated!

The Flyers have Giroux, Read, Couturier, Schenn, Simmonds, and JVR all 24 or younger.  I mean... come on.  You can forgive them if they dont have anything coming up the pipeline in a year considering they have 6 of them currently on their NHL roster with a high watermark for their ceiling.

Read will be 26 in June.

Sorry, for whatever reason I remember hearing 24.  Ah well, whatever.  Point still (mostly) stands.  Plus he's a "rookie" by NHL standards anyways.


Edit:  So he's 25 right now?  I guess when they signed him out of college or wherever he was 24 and thats why the number stuck with me.

 

[maplesyrup]

I have no idea if Boston is in on the talks or if Nash would go there but with Brassard, Pahlsson, Johansen, and MacKenzie as the Jacket's centres, I have to assume a quality centre coming back to them would be high on their list. Maybe Krejci, Horton, Hamilton and a first gets it done? Or, something along those lines?

 

[Kin]

It's like the Tampa Bay Rays.  Everyone loved their prospect system for years... they developed quite a few, and many of them made it... then some people started saying "well they don't have a great system anymore."  WELL OBVIOUSLY!  They all graduated!

Is anyone saying that about the Rays? By most accounts they still have a top 5 system.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

Without Lundqvist I say the Rangers aren't nearly as good as they are.  Put Lundqvist on the Leafs and we'd be in a playoff spot today.

You could probably say that about any good team and their best player.

My point is the Leafs need a goalie of that caliber.  Great goalies can mask a lot of deficiencies.  It's the difference between the Leafs being an 8th-10th team to a 5th-6th team.

I agree, whether it comes from inside or out, we need more higher caliber goaltending.  Look at where our goals against is... not exactly stellar.  It's a product of defence but goaltending isn't helping.  If our keepers could have stolen 5 (more) games over the course of this season, now we're sitting at 75 points instead of 65 and are sitting near the top (2nd) of the conference just ahead of Boston. 

 

[Corn Flake]

Curtis Joseph took a pretty terrible Leafs team to the semis in '99.  Without him they would have been as bad as they were the year before, which was really bad.

 

[Zee]

Without Lundqvist I say the Rangers aren't nearly as good as they are.  Put Lundqvist on the Leafs and we'd be in a playoff spot today.

You could probably say that about any good team and their best player.

My point is the Leafs need a goalie of that caliber.  Great goalies can mask a lot of deficiencies.  It's the difference between the Leafs being an 8th-10th team to a 5th-6th team.

I agree, whether it comes from inside or out, we need more higher caliber goaltending.  Look at where our goals against is... not exactly stellar.  It's a product of defence but goaltending isn't helping.  If our keepers could have stolen 5 (more) games over the course of this season, now we're sitting at 75 points instead of 65 and are sitting near the top (2nd) of the conference just ahead of Boston. 

Yeah, I look at the Leafs goals for which is great at 182, compared to the Rangers goals for at 161.  The difference is the Rangers have only given up 118 compared to the Leafs 186 (ouch).  A top flight goalie cuts down those goals against, and easily gives us 5 more wins like you suggested.

 

[Bender]

Curtis Joseph took a pretty terrible Leafs team to the semis in '99.  Without him they would have been as bad as they were the year before, which was really bad.

Why do you even bother?
Don't you know historical precedent carries no weight??

 

[rdowdall]

Without Lundqvist I say the Rangers aren't nearly as good as they are.  Put Lundqvist on the Leafs and we'd be in a playoff spot today.

You could probably say that about any good team and their best player.

My point is the Leafs need a goalie of that caliber.  Great goalies can mask a lot of deficiencies.  It's the difference between the Leafs being an 8th-10th team to a 5th-6th team.

I agree, whether it comes from inside or out, we need more higher caliber goaltending.  Look at where our goals against is... not exactly stellar.  It's a product of defence but goaltending isn't helping.  If our keepers could have stolen 5 (more) games over the course of this season, now we're sitting at 75 points instead of 65 and are sitting near the top (2nd) of the conference just ahead of Boston. 

How many games have the Leafs goalies really had to steal?  For the most part the Leafs are in the games that they play.  I would say it's almost a case of if the Leafs goalies don't cost them the game, they may be further ahead.

 

[Sudafederov]

Incarcerated Bob just caused Twitter to explode.

 

[Tigger]

Incarcerated Bob just caused Twitter to explode.

What's his new stir stick?

 

[louisstamos]

Incarcerated Bob just caused Twitter to explode.

What's his new stir stick?

Just claimed Nash to Rangers done deal.

 

[Tigger]

Incarcerated Bob just caused Twitter to explode.

What's his new stir stick?

Just claimed Nash to Rangers done deal.

Yup, I guess that would do it. Wasn't this guy outed as a hack already though?