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Why is everyone so scared of getting Rick Nash?

Edmonton Oilers v Columbus Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 17: Rick Nash #16 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates a goal during the game against the Edmonton Oilers at Nationwide Arena on January 17, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets defeated the Oilers 4-2. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)

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Wysh wrote a post today for Puck Daddy that listed all the teams in the Rick Nash derby and why they don’t need the Columbus captain. And the post made a ton of sense. Acquiring a big contract like Nash’s is fraught with risk. You might give up too much in return. You might negatively alter team chemistry. You might get a player that’s already reached his best-before date.

Of course, on the other hand…IT’S RICK NASH.

Yeah, he’s got a big contract. But he’s got a big contract for a reason – he’s really quite a good hockey player.

Hockey fans have officially turned into scaredy cats when adding a player like Nash is deemed too risky because of the salary cap. This isn’t Scott Gomez we’re talking about. Gomez had one 30-goal season before Glen Sather broke the bank. Nash has had six, and twice he’s scored 40 or more.

John Buccigross gets it:

Buccigross

Now take the Canucks. (For the sake of argument, let’s forget Nash has reportedly left them off his approved team list.) Do you really think the Sedins would be furious about getting to play with one of the premier snipers in the NHL because they left money on the table to stay in Vancouver? They’ve already got lots of money. What they don’t have is a Stanley Cup. Brian Campbell was overpaid in Chicago but the Blackhawks still seemed pretty happy when they won the Cup.

And so what if Nash is overpaid by a couple of million a season – if I’m Mike Gillis, I’d rather overpay a 30-goal-scorer by a couple of million than give Keith Ballard $4.2 million a season to play 15 minutes a night on the third pairing mixed in with the occasional healthy scratch.

Seriously, am I taking crazy pills here?