In case you missed it, Rick Nash is still a Columbus Blue Jacket.
In other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
The big news on the Nash front on Friday has been that the New York Rangers - thought to be one of the leading candidates to acquire the discontented star winger - are growing frustrated with the process and pursuing other options, which may or may not include Anaheim Ducks winger Bobby Ryan (and probably should).
Scott Howson has been widely criticized - in this space and elsewhere - for being too demanding in trying to achieve a trade for Nash, and those criticisms are valid. At the same time, however, Howson has a tremendously difficult job. With the entire hockey world aware that Nash wants out of Columbus, Howson has to make a trade that gets Nash out of town and makes the Blue Jackets better. In that light, it's not terribly surprising that he'd try to pull Jeff Skinner out of Carolina, even if it was always going to be a futile effort.
However, if Howson can't get Skinner from Carolina, or Chris Kreider and/or Ryan McDonagh and/or Derek Stepan from New York, the question is this: what can he do?
The answer may involve Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo.
Let's get the major caveat out of the way right up front: both Luongo and Nash have no-trade clauses, and while both are willing to waive them in the right deal, the destinations of Vancouver and Columbus for Nash and Luongo haven't exactly been a hot topic, beyond Luongo's unwillingness to publicly rule out the Blue Jackets during a Friday radio interview. That having been said, however, a Nash-Luongo deal could be that rarest of breeds: the professional sports trade that makes both teams better.
For Vancouver, Luongo is a surplus asset. Cory Schneider is officially the man between the pipes in British Columbia, having signed a three-year deal last month worth $12 million after replacing Luongo in net during Vancouver's first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Kings. With Luongo taking up more than $5.3 million per year in cap space, the Canucks really can't afford to keep him around. The Canucks have enough room to absorb Nash's $7.8 million cap hit when you take Luongo's cap hit off the books, and the addition of Nash - one of five players to score 30 goals or more in each of the last five seasons - would certainly take some pressure off of the Sedin twins.
In Columbus, meanwhile, Howson's desired package of roster players, hot prospects and draft picks probably isn't going to materialize. His intentions are good for his franchise, but his methods are unrealistic. Adding Luongo in goal, however, would be an instant and drastic improvement, and a world-class goaltender is a great cornerstone for building a successful NHL franchise. And yes, we know that Luongo's world-class credentials don't exactly hold up in playoff situations, but given that the Blue Jackets have made the playoffs just once in Nash's NHL career, Columbus fans would probably welcome the opportunity to watch their goaltender fall apart in the playoffs. OK, maybe not when you put it that way, but you get the picture.
The question, then would be why it makes sense for the players. For Nash, the attraction is obvious. He'd be joining a team that won more games during the NHL regular season than any other in 2011-12, not to mention a team that's already improved this season with the addition of defenseman Jason Garrison. While nothing's a certainty in the NHL, it would be pretty safe to say that Vancouver would get Nash his second crack at the playoffs in 2012-13.
For Luongo, the attraction is a little less obvious. The idea of Luongo going to the Chicago Blackhawks set Twitter afire on Friday afternoon, and the Florida Panthers have also been mentioned as a leading contender for Luongo's services and a preferred destination of the two-time NHL All-Star (he played five seasons with Florida before being traded to Vancouver). Both teams are significantly more playoff-ready than Luongo. However, the idea of going to a city where he'd be welcomed as a hero and the focus would be on the regular season could be attractive given his past playoff struggles.
It remains to be seen where Nash and Luongo will go in trades this summer, although the odds favor it happening. Still, the Canucks and Blue Jackets could solve a lot of their own problems by solving each other's.
