Rick Nash’s Tenure With the Rangers Was Underrated

The one area of his offense that does deserve some criticism is his lack of playoff goal-scoring with the Rangers. He played in 85 playoff games and only scored 17 goals. His best performance came in 2014-15 when he scored five goals and 14 points in 19 games. It was strange to see him go from scoring 42 goals that same regular season, to just five when the games were the most important. We all remember when Nash missed an open net in the Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings. If he had scored, it could have been a different series, but that is the past. While his playoff goal scoring was lackluster, his overall scoring for the Rangers helped them more than it hurt them.

Nash Became A Great Two-Way Player

During his time with the Rangers, Nash started getting time on the penalty kill and he thrived at it. While he was supposed to be an elite scorer, he became an even better defensive player during his time in New York. While that’s not something fans like to hear because he was brought in to score, it made Nash a better overall hockey player. When he would go into his scoring droughts, he could still be relied on to play a great overall game. While he wasn’t scoring as many goals, he was preventing the other team from scoring as well.

During his time in New York, Nash dealt with various injury problems, the most concerning being concussions. He missed portions of seasons at a time due to these injuries and this had an impact on his game. The Rangers truly never got Nash at 100 percent, but they still got a really good player who was good on both sides of the puck. He could score when he needed to and he could also play defense and stop the other team from scoring. While he wasn’t the healthiest player, Nash still played great while he was with the Rangers.

Best Trade Return of the Rebuild

When the Rangers sent out “The Letter” to their fans in February 2018 signaling that the franchise was going in a different direction, it was clear that Nash’s time with the team was coming to an end. He was going to be an unrestricted free agent and teams had interest in him going into the playoffs. When the time came, Nash and the Rangers parted ways after six seasons on Feb. 25, 2018. He was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Matt Beleskey, Ryan Spooner, Ryan Lindgren, a 2019 seventh-round pick and a 2018 first-round pick. Looking back on this trade years later, this was the best return the Rangers got during their rebuild. They got five assets for a player on the decline and someone who was about to become a free agent. This was Nash’s parting gift to the Rangers.

Ryan Lindgren is now a top-paring defenseman playing with his long-time friend, Adam Fox. He is also a key member of the Rangers going into next season. Spooner had a good start in New York but struggled early the following season and was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for another struggling player, Ryan Strome. This is arguably the best trade of the rebuild because the Rangers got four good years from Strome, while Spooner was out of the NHL by the end of the season.

The 2018 first-round pick was used to trade up with the Ottawa Senators and they selected K’Andre Miller. He is another key piece of the Rangers’ defense and was just signed to a two-year extension. In the end, they got two of their top-four defensemen from this trade and a good second-line center for four years. All of this for 12 playoff games with the Bruins for Nash. It ended up being a great return for a great player.

A Career Ended Too Early

Nash was forced to retire in 2019 due to unresolved issues from a concussion he suffered with the Bruins in March 2018. While it was sad to see him retire, it was more important for him to take care of his health and be with his family. His Rangers legacy will always get mixed reactions from the fans. Overall, Nash did what he could and he helped the Rangers get close to their goal and he also helped them when they needed to reset for the future. His time with the Rangers is an underrated period in the franchise’s history.