Rick Nash potentially available

[Britishbulldog]

Burke met with Howson this morning....

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/trades/2012/02/19/nhl_trade_deadline_leafs_burke_howsen_rick_nash/

"It is believed any deal between Toronto and Columbus would have to include a combination of players that could include Nazem Kadri, Luke Schenn, Nikolai Kulemin and possibly James Reimer."

SOLD!

If it was:
Nazem Kadri, Mike Komisarek, Nikolai Kulemin and possibly James Reimer...

then I would be really excited or even exchange MacArthur as a goal scorer for Kulemin:

Nazem Kadri, Mike Komisarek, Clarke MacArthur and possibly James Reimer...but...

 

[leafplasma]

Yes I would assume that talks may have progressed to the point the meeting was arranged.  More than likely telephone discussions or texting had already gone down and Burke being the persuasive SOB he is felt that a face to face would edge things along.  Lets face it if Burke was not serious about Nash then this wouldn't have went down.  Can you imagine if every trade around the deadline involved a face to face, that would make for a lot of travel .  When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

 

[leafplasma]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

 

[Chev-boyar-sky]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

Sure but our defense would still suck and we'd still have a big question mark in net.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

 

[leafplasma]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

 

[L K]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

My guess is that the Sedins' would have bee pretty much what we have with Kessel/Lupul this year, except on last years roster.  One massive difference however is that the Sedin's are all about puck-possession and that ties up the opposition in their own zone.  I think their style of play is one that wears down an opponent more than what Kessel/Lupul are capable of. 

You can't really assess what the team would be like, but as much as Kessel takes the pressure off other lines, I think the Sedin's would have done an even greater job of that.  My guess is that even last years team is probably a playoff team with the Sedin's...not a good one, but one of those bottom seeds.  So the draft picks would have been mid-1st rounders or at best in the low 8-10 range.

 

[leafplasma]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

My guess is that the Sedins' would have bee pretty much what we have with Kessel/Lupul this year, except on last years roster.  One massive difference however is that the Sedin's are all about puck-possession and that ties up the opposition in their own zone.  I think their style of play is one that wears down an opponent more than what Kessel/Lupul are capable of. 

You can't really assess what the team would be like, but as much as Kessel takes the pressure off other lines, I think the Sedin's would have done an even greater job of that.  My guess is that even last years team is probably a playoff team with the Sedin's...not a good one, but one of those bottom seeds.  So the draft picks would have been mid-1st rounders or at best in the low 8-10 range.

Yes and this would be the third season with the Sedins as it is the third year with Kessel.  So you could go back 2 seasons really and try to speculate.

 

[Tigger]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

I'm really not sure why you're saying that, Burke hasn't made any trades like that so far in Toronto.

 

[L K]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

I'm really not sure why you're saying that, Burke hasn't made any trades like that so far in Toronto.

He's pretty much exclusively shipping players out/bought low on guys during the season.

Traded Versteeg for picks.  Traded Beauchemin for Lupul/Gardiner.  Got rid of Blake for Giguere (cap and veteran goaltender move).  Traded a bunch of things for Phaneuf.  He hasn't bought someone at the deadline yet.

 

[leafplasma]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

I'm really not sure why you're saying that, Burke hasn't made any trades like that so far in Toronto.

No he hasn't but he has never been in the position to potentially be a buyer until this season and the verdict is out on what he will do.  However, what I was saying was with the Sedins in the fold and maybewe were in the position to make a playoff run, things may have been different.  Hard to say what moves would have been made back then.

 

[maplesyrup]

Traded Versteeg for picks.  Traded Beauchemin for Lupul/Gardiner.  Got rid of Blake for Giguere (cap and veteran goaltender move).  Traded a bunch of things for Phaneuf.  He hasn't bought someone at the deadline yet.

Maybe not prudent to the discussion but that's why many people suspect we won't see much happening trade-wise with this team until the summer. Perhaps a minor to medium sized type thing happens on or by next Monday but I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty quiet week for us... I could be wrong.

 

[Tigger]

When Burke wants something he goes after it, remember his trip to Europe to woo the Sedins.

That worked really well.

Haha, so true, he gave it his best shot though. Imagine the face of this team had we signed them.  No Kessel, but Seguin and another 1st and a 2nd in the mix.  We would look entirely different today.

We would have still finished 2nd last with the Sedins?

Never thought of that, your right, we may have made some desperate move at the deadline and be even further back in our rebuild.

I'm really not sure why you're saying that, Burke hasn't made any trades like that so far in Toronto.

No he hasn't but he has never been in the position to potentially be a buyer until this season and the verdict is out on what he will do.  However, what I was saying was with the Sedins in the fold and maybewe were in the position to make a playoff run, things may have been different.  Hard to say what moves would have been made back then.

He also changed his tune from 'if I could make a trade for a player that would get us into the playoffs I would' to 'I'm not interested in making the playoffs and getting our asses kicked in the first round'... it's hard to say what anyone would do when using pretty baseless speculation, nor accurately prognosticate how desperate it would be, nor glean how much further ahead or behind a rebuild might be.

 

[Corn Flake]

He hasn't bought someone at the deadline yet.

True but he hasn't had this quiet of a trade season before the deadline either.  If he had already made a move or two I'd agree but with nothing happening yet, I think its still very much in the cards. 

 

[L K]

He hasn't bought someone at the deadline yet.

True but he hasn't had this quiet of a trade season before the deadline either.  If he had already made a move or two I'd agree but with nothing happening yet, I think its still very much in the cards.

Absolutely, and a trade could certainly be in the cards.  But let's say hypothetically that he does acquire Nash.  I don't really see that as a "bought someone at the deadline" deal as much as a "holy crap, a potential 40 goal scorer who can actually play a physical game" became available that makes my team better for hopefully the next 10 years, kind of thing.  Unless he trades a bunch of picks/prospects for mid-30s level players, I think it would stay as a consistent move.  And until he actually does make a bunch of short-sighted moves like that, I don't think we should be assuming that he will.

 

[Corn Flake]

He hasn't bought someone at the deadline yet.

True but he hasn't had this quiet of a trade season before the deadline either.  If he had already made a move or two I'd agree but with nothing happening yet, I think its still very much in the cards.

Absolutely, and a trade could certainly be in the cards.  But let's say hypothetically that he does acquire Nash.  I don't really see that as a "bought someone at the deadline" deal as much as a "holy crap, a potential 40 goal scorer who can actually play a physical game" became available that makes my team better for hopefully the next 10 years, kind of thing.  Unless he trades a bunch of picks/prospects for mid-30s level players, I think it would stay as a consistent move.  And until he actually does make a bunch of short-sighted moves like that, I don't think we should be assuming that he will.

For sure.. anything he does would be with long term benefits and if it comes with short-term gains as well then that is just a bonus.  Nash would be both.

But I do think he would like to give this team a jolt/boost for this year, but avoiding rentals for sure.

 

[leafplasma]

The more I think of this, this team is not near ready to be a buyer so why fool ourselves.  I think we should get what we can by way of picks for guys like Mac, Armstrong, Connolly, Lombardi, Komi and one of my goalies simply to shed cap space.  Some of these guys can't be given away likely, however, if I am Burke I do my best to clear space to make room for some of the kids with the Marlies.  Then I explore the UFA market  or attempt to make a deal at the draft or in the offseason.

 

[Madferret]

Would Burke's popularity drop a few notches if he misses the boat on Nash? If you think about it this could be his defining moment as Leafs GM; "top 6" star player from Toronto who apparently grew up a Leaf fan and wants to play in Toronto is available - such drama!

 

[hockeyfan1]

Larry Brooks writes that in addition to Dubinksy, Kreider and a #1, CBJ wants a combo of players including Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Del Zotto, Artem Anisimov and Carl Hagelin.

If the Rangers are serious about making a run for the Cup, then they may consider Nash, since he could help them in the short term.

However, if they are in a 'rebuilding' phase, then they may re-consider the idea of acquiring a Nash that may not give them too many years down the road.

Besides, Columbus may request a player in the calibre of talented prospect, Chris Kreider, whom the Rangers may not want to part with, as part of the team's future.