Rick Nash was brought to the New York Rangers for the goals, but last season wasn’t fun for him. What is his future like on Broadway?
The day can be easily remembered by New York Rangers fans. When the news broke, the Blueshirt faithful thought they were receiving a goal scoring machine in Rick Nash.
He gave the Rangers just that and finished his first two seasons on Broadway with at least 20 goals, one being in a lockout-shortened NHL season.
However, last year was dreadful for No. 61, where he finished with 15 goals and 21 assists in 60 games played.
It was sad seeing this happen, considering what the Rangers paid for in players and in his contract. The Rick Nash experiment up to this point, hasn’t been as successful as planned.
However, is there a shot at redemption for Nash?
RELATED: Vesey and Buchnevich Are Excited For Traverse City
You cannot count him out of contention, that’s for sure.
He is 32 years old now, and will turn 33 next June. Age is slowly becoming an issue, but for Nash, that shouldn’t be the case for this season. There still could be something left in the tank.
What should be on Rangers fan’s minds are what happens after this year, considering his stats.
Before coming to New York, Nash had all but two 30 goal seasons with Columbus. While in New York, he’s had one 30 goal scoring season and that was his career high (42) in 2014-15.
As mentioned before, last season was not one for Nash to look on as one to build off of. The small goal total left Rangers fans disappointed and his future in New York looks murky at best.
He is under contract until next season, with a modified no-trade clause in the deal. His cap hit is $7.8 million.
For the money Nash is earning, another 15-20 goal season could spell the end of the line for the 6’4 winger.
The upsetting thing is that Nash is an elite talent, and some of the things he does on the ice can be almost unthinkable.
Take a look at this goal Nash scored in 2013:
Granted, he is now a little older, and this was done three seasons ago, but that exhibition of skill was second to none.
Rask almost slid all the way out of the crease before Nash put the puck back on his forehand and into the net. If he can do that on a nightly basis, teams will be forced to respect the veteran winger.
In all honesty, Rick Nash has had a good career to date. A few bumps in the road have not proved to be too costly for him, but last year was one to cause some concern.
Nash’s lackluster regular season was hard to watch at times. Only positivity can be on the mind of Nash to bounce back.
It will be interesting how this season unfolds for him as well. It could start off slow, but ending blazingly fast.
It could also start the with a bang, but finish in utter failure and disappointment.
Whatever way it unfolds, the Rangers simply cannot rely on one player to carry the offense every night. Offseason moves have bolstered the bottom six and the penalty kill, but everyone on the roster has to step up.
New York Rangers hockey is almost back, folks. Soon, the puck will be dropping on the Garden ice and the season will be in full swing. Nash’s return to all star caliber form will be crucial for next season.
