The chance of signing Rick Nash may be increased if you first sign former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean.
So hockey season is over, huh?
Don't believe it for a second. The season never ends. No games on the ice perhaps, but there is plenty of action going on behind closed doors.
Here are a few stories percolating:
CASH FOR NASH: It is going to be interesting to see if the Columbus Blue Jackets can make any headway this season in convincing star winger Rick Nash to sign a contract extension. Nash has one year remaining on the five-year, $27 million deal he inked with the Blue Jackets in August of 2005 and you just know he is going to be GM Scott Howson's top priority.
A couple of things to consider, though. First, does Nash want to remain in Columbus. If he goes to unrestricted free agency next summer there is no question he will be the most sought-after UFA on the market - maybe of all-time. Many teams will take that into consideration this year when preparing their budgets for the 2010-11 season. Also, does Nash want to continue playing for coach Ken Hitchcock?
Finally, with former Blue Jackets president-GM Doug MacLean working diligently to get back into the NHL, Nash may choose to wait to see if his pal gets work and then sign with that team. In fact, if I was a team looking for a new GM, and felt MacLean might be able to deliver Nash, I'd give some serious consideration to signing him. MacLean, that is.
MONSTER DEAL: A lot is being made of 24-year-old Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson (they call him the Monster) making the rounds as he tests the waters to see which team he'll sign with. For all I know, Gustavsson might be the second coming of Jacques Plante and whichever team signs him - Toronto, San Jose, Colorado and Dallas are thought to be the four finalists - may get themselves a Vezina Trophy winner.
But a year ago another Swede, Fabian Brunnstrom, was also in hot demand. The Stars signed him and he didn't exactly set the world on fire. Brunnstrom managed 17 goals and 29 points in 55 games and was minus-8. He was also a healthy scratch on occasion. Frankly, I'll reserve judgment on Gustavsson, but generally there is a reason why players slide through a number of drafts without being picked - it's because they aren't that good.
HEAT ON SENS: Now that Dany Heatley has made it clear he no longer wishes to play for the Ottawa Senators, and the Sens appear happy to move him if the right deal comes along, will there be a market for his services? You bet there will, even though a team acquiring him must pay Heatley a $4 million bonus on July 1.
Heatley dipped to 39 goals this past season, but has averaged 45 a year in the past four years and had back-to-back 50-goal seasons. That kind of production doesn't grow on a tree.
Teams like Vancouver, depending on which way they go with the Sedin twins, Edmonton, San Jose and Los Angeles could be in the market for a sniper. The Sharks may want to change the culture of their team after failing again in this year's playoffs.
The question being asked is, can a team win with Heatley? I say yes. When the Senators made it to the Stanley Cup final three years ago, Heatley was one of their best players. He may not be a leader, per say, but he can get the job done in the right circumstances.
That said, the Sens had better get a scorer back, either in a trade for Heatley or through free agency. Daniel Alfredsson is a great player, but he's not a scorer like Heatley.
WIN OR LOSE? The NHL won over Jim Balsillie. Or did it? What is left in Phoenix? A team that nobody wants to watch and a franchise that doesn't have money to be competitive. I don't blame NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for fighting tooth and nail to control the destiny of one of his franchises, but that doesn't change the fact hockey in Phoenix is a losing proposition and even if Balsillie is going about it the wrong way, his deep pockets and burning desire to own an NHL franchise must be exploited by the league.
I admire the fact Bettman said in a Hockey Night In Canada interview that he advised Balsillie on how to go about acquiring an NHL team and hope the Canadian billionaire will start playing by the rules. The NHL needs him a heck of a lot more than they need a disaster in the desert.