Leaf Rumours
- Thread starter Hoss
- Start date
IrishWolfman
New member
Shane Doan has said multiple times that he enjoys the idea of playing for one franchise his entire career.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
Which is still pretty meh...was their best season since they had drafted him, and ended with a playoff sweep.
MyNameIsJonas
Well-known member
I'm not sure we can ever know how good Nash will be until we see a capable C on his line. I mean seriously, Derrick Brassard? Kristian Huselius? Espen Knutsen?....give the guy a C
JaysCyYoung
Legend
A fair point to make but it also bears noting that in 2006 the entire Canadian team had trouble scoring goals. Shane Doan with his three points was one of our best players (if not our best forward) during that disaster of a tournament in Turin. Nash deserves blame for not showing up but he was far from the only invisible Canuck during that campaign. And he was one of our best forwards from start to finish in Vancouver with 5 points in 7 games and very strong all-around play (surprisingly). His line was one of Canada's most consistently reliable throughout the tournament and his work along the boards invaluable.
And while the World Championships may not showcase all of the best talent available due to the NHL playoffs it is a very well-regarded tournament beyond North America that the European nations take exceedingly seriously and put forward a legitimate attempt to win it every single year. Nash has been incredible in those competitions.
While I would have loved for Nash to have explored free agency you know better than anyone that very few elite free agents actually leave their franchises when the opportunity arises. Nash was simply following the trend and hey, it's hard to fault a guy for showing loyalty to a franchise that has been reliant on him since 2002.
Just for fun though, here is Columbus' offensive production by year since they drafted Nash:
2002-03: 213 GF (16th)
2003-04: 177 GF (29th)
2005-06: 223 GF (27th)
2006-07: 201 GF (29th)
2007-08: 193 GF (30th)
2008-09: 226 GF (21st)
2009-10: 216 GF (25th)
2010-11: 107 GF (21st)
The highest that Columbus has ever finished in league goal-scoring since 2002 was in Nash's rookie season when they rode several soon-to-be-dealt veterans to an inflated ranking. Since that time they have failed to attain a position higher than 21st, with a dead-last sitting in 2008 and a pair or second-to-last finishes in 2004 and 2007 respectively. The franchise has never finished in even the upper-half of the league goals-wise over the past eight seasons of play, a ludicrously inept feat.
Which of course begs the question: WHY HAVEN'T THE BLUE JACKETS GOTTEN NASH SOME HELP ALREADY!?
Montana
Champion
He signed after the team had it's best success while he was there, and had seemed to have turned the corner......that's all I'm pointing out.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
You'll never hear me argue that Columbus isn't a huge gong show. I just won't shed many tears for a guy who raked as many dollars from them as he could (knowing that they're already budget limited) and then doesn't provide the level of production his paycheque suggests he should.
The Jackets have tried to draft him some help, but we all know how problematic that can be. They've traded for some help (but never had a lot of assets to work with, being a gong show and all), and they can't really afford to add anything but secondary offensive talent in free agency because of their budget limitations.
The Jackets have tried to draft him some help, but we all know how problematic that can be. They've traded for some help (but never had a lot of assets to work with, being a gong show and all), and they can't really afford to add anything but secondary offensive talent in free agency because of their budget limitations.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
I know what you're pointing out mang, I do. I just remember saying at the time that I didn't understand the "Columbus is a young up and coming team" nonsense that a lot of people were jerking themselves silly about. Even if Brassard, Voracek, & Filatov all panned out properly, it was still a team that was years away from hitting any sort of peak, and had no blueline at all to speak of.
There were plenty of reasons for him to walk away and pick another franchise to play for, Columbus had to give him 7.8 million reasons to stay.
LeafGm
Well-known member
Rick Nash? Good player, but he's massively overpaid at $7.8M. Frankly, I don't think I'd even pull the trigger if he was an unrestricted free agent, and the price of acquiring him was to sign him to that contract. But to take on that contract, and also give up a massively valuable package of assets at the same time?
axlsalinger
Well-known member
Still laughing at the idea that some people have watched Phil Kessel play this year, and still think he's as good as Rick Nash.
mbow30
Spudmeister Supreme
and i'm laughing at the idea that some people have watched phil kessel.. but not rick nash.. and think that nash is actually any better than kessel is.
axlsalinger
Well-known member
Not sure what you're referring to here, I've seen them both play plenty of times. Rick Nash is a better hockey player. Are there any GM's who wouldn't trade Kessel straight up for Nash?
The discrepancy in salary between 7.8 and 5.4 is a fair point, and levels the field a bit for sure.
Montana
Champion
What are the GC's numbers like for Brad Richards and Tim Connolly, the last few years?........mind posting them up if you get a minute.
MyNameIsJonas
Well-known member
Hypothetical for you guys
To Leafs
Voracek
2nd
Commodore
To Jackets
Kaberle
You say?
To Leafs
Voracek
2nd
Commodore
To Jackets
Kaberle
You say?