Buffalo Sabres Linked To Rick Nash?

The Twitterverse is full of rumors that link the Buffalo Sabres to Rick Nash — can we believe any of the trade chatter in this case?

Everyone with 1/4 of a brain and an undying love of the Buffalo Sabes knows that the professional hockey team in the 716 is steadily becoming a playoff-caliber team, but that the roster still needs scoring punch on the left wing and a top-4 LHD.

We have discussed options for the Sabres’ LW woes – Brandon Pirri, giving Zemgus Girgensons a shot on the second line – but as usual, we are just spit-balling and tossing ideas around.

Meanwhile, there is a crazy rumor floating around Twitter that the Sabres are moving closer to finalizing a deal with Rick Nash, currently occupying a spot on the roster of the New York Rangers.

Hmmmm.

This rumor seems nonsensical at first glance, not least because The Hockey Press cannot even get a high-quality image for the site’s banner – have you seen that pixellated monstrosity? Nash is 32 years old, and a quick look at his stats will tell you his best days are behind him.  Sure, he produced 69 points for the Blueshirts in 2014-15, but that effort is sandwiched by three sub-50 point seasons. Nash’s eight-season streak of scoring 50+ points ended following the 2009-10 campaign, and he scored a career low 36 points in 2015-16.

And the Sabres would want to bring his $7.8 million dollar salary-cap hit into Buffalo because … ?

Well, for starters, Nash’s salary would come off the books at exactly the same time the Sabres would be negotiating new contracts for Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane (if they chose to do so for Kane). If the Sabres could find a way to make his contract work now, then it won’t affect what they need to do when it comes time to dealing with their core players, so his big contract would not become an albatross around the Sabres’ necks.

More importantly, even though the Rick Nash we see now is not the Rick Nash of 5-6 years ago, he would still be a better option at LW alongside Eichel and Reinhart than what the Sabres currently have. His HERO chart over at Own The Puck suggests he could make the lives of Eichel and Reinhart easier with his playmaking abilities, and like Reinhart, Nash is a solid possession player, whereas Eichel is not (yet).

Obviously, the Buffalo Sabres would only have a two-year window with Nash on board, but you have to look at it like this: GM Tim Murray would be bringing Nash in to help the Sabres make the playoffs NOW, knowing damn well that in two seasons Nash will be out and replaced by Alexander Nylander (hopefully), a young player just entering his prime who can keep a playoff-tested Sabres team in the hunt for the Cup for years to come.

Next: Could Zemgus Girgensons Play Alongside Eichel & Reinhart?

Since I can neither confirm nor deny that the Buffalo Sabres are in talks to acquire Rick Nash, we’ll just file this under Wishful Thinking (or Ridiculous Clickbait, for those of you who don’t want Nash). Ever since the Rangers moved Keith Yandle, there has been much speculation that the team was looking to free up some space in order to go out and get Kevin Shattenkirk, but again, that is just what the rumor mill claims. For now, we’ll put this on the back-burner until we hear more, but at least you are aware of the pros and cons.