2. So, yes, Gorton should be in aggressive listening mode, specifically on pending free agent Rick Nash, who unfortunately is playing some of the weakest hockey of his tenure in New York, having gone pointless in his last 10 games while recording just two goals and six points in 23 games going back to Nov. 17.
The winger’s decline in production isn’t likely to increase his market value, but it only takes two teams believing that No. 61 can be a missing link to a title in order to generate a bidding war. Generally, I’d say nothing less than a first-rounder would do, but
given the likelihood that Nash will not be back next year under even a hometown discount, you bet Gorton should entertain offers including a second-rounder, plus.
Might the Rangers take a step back without Nash? Yes. But trading Nash would open ice time for Vinni Lettieri. And, pucks to baseballs, trading Carlos Beltran, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 deadline did not kneecap the Yankees for even the next two months.
But it isn’t just about Nash. It is about an attitude and philosophy approaching the deadline that the Rangers might be able to use as a mechanism to take two steps forward next year and three the year after that even if it does result in a step back this time.