On Monday morning, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch was able to put into print the list of teams that Columbus Blue Jackets superstar forward Rick Nash is willing to go to, which included clubs such as the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks.
Basically, all of these teams have been speculated as the destinations that Nash would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to. However, the problem has never been the teams he's willing to go to; it's the teams that he isn't willing to go to that has been holding up the process.
The Ottawa Senators reportedly made such a strong offer that the Blue Jackets were ready to make the deal, but Nash wasn't interested in playing in Ottawa and the Senators eventually pulled themselves out of the running.
New York and Philadelphia have long been considered the most capable suitors to match the high-asking price by general manager Scott Howson. However, those two teams aren't willing to pay that price, because they believe it is too high.
As of this time, Portzline states that the trade is in a holding pattern and that nothing is on the horizon.
With unrestricted free agents Shane Doan and Alexander Semin still on the open-market, teams may not be desperate enough to acquire a top-6 winger to fork out the necessary assets to acquire Nash's services.
At the same time, even after those players determine where they want to play, Anaheim's Bobby Ryan and Dallas' Brenden Morrow have been rumored to be available for the right price and will certainly be less expensive than Howson's asking price for Nash.
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