Rangers finally get their man, acquire Rick Nash

Rick Nash trade to New York Rangers in process now. Details to follow.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 23, 2012

After months and months of rumors, proposed deals and intense discussions on social media, the Rangers on Monday finally acquired Rick Nash from Columbus for Dubinsky, Anisimov, prospect Tim Erixon and a first round pick in 2013. The trade is a huge win for the Rangers. First and foremost, you have to commend Glen Sather for his steadfast patience in dealing with Jackets' GM Scott Howson as the Rangers the deal they wanted for an elite scorer. Howson most definitely caved to the Rangers demands after months and months where it seemed nothing was going to get done. The Rangers as an organization, has taken huge strides in the past 12 months that left them just 6 wins shy of a Cup and Monday's trade puts them right there with the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

There is no game breaker in Nash deal - NYR did very well in trading no core players #goodforNYR
— Ray Ferraro (@rayferrarotsn) July 23, 2012

Not ultimately getting JT Miller is really what makes me think Howson screwed himself a bit.
— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) July 23, 2012

If the McDonagh-Gomez trade didn't tell the hockey world about Glen Sather's trading prowess, the Nash trade certainly did. It was a minor miracle the Blue Jackets couldn't acquire better prospect talent from the Rangers. Yes, Tim Erixon is an NHL ready prospect (you would think) but what is left of Erixon's trade value, who just 12 months ago was deemed as the Calgary Flames' top prospect. But if Erixon fails again in his quest to stick on a NHL roster, he's just another Matt Gilroy.

As far as the two roster players were concerned, my feelings about Artem Anisimov are well known. I don't think there is much more upside when it came to Artie. He only had 20 assists this past season playing on a line with Marian Gaborik for a good chunk of the year. I'm not sure Anisimov will ever come remotely close to the 81 point season, that included 37 goals that he had with Hartford just 3 years ago. To me, Anisimov was just another fringe top 6 player on the Rangers who'll net you 35-40 points a year. Sather didn't sound too optimistic in Monday's conference call that he would've been able to re-sign Artie after this season anyway.

Regarding Dubinsky, Dubi became a fan favorite two seasons ago when Callahan and Gaborik were out of the lineup due to their various injuries. Dubinsky was the Rangers best and most consistent  forward in 2010-11 and was handsomely rewarded by the Rangers last offseason with a 4 year $16.8 million contract. It's quite unfortunate that Brandon was never able to improve on the 54 point outing he had two years ago leading into this past season. Whether Dubi was injured, tired or just snake-bitten, he just couldn't buy a goal last year which led to his steep decline in production and his inability to crack the Rangers top 6. When Dubinsky's game is on, he becomes quite dangerous with the puck on his stick from anywhere on the ice. The Rangers are going to miss Dubinsky's tenacious play and his physicality along the boards dearly, as well as his 2 on 1's with Callahan.

The Rangers are not quite finished with their offseason, the Rangers did trade away 2 centers and will likely be in the market for someone else cheap. Also can't rule out the possibility of Shane Doan signing with the Rangers as well. The Rangers are officially all-in fans!! It's Stanley Cup or bust now for the New York Rangers.