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Columbus GM Howson: Nash came to us and asked to be traded

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James

Any chance of Rick Nash -- who wasn’t traded before today’s deadline -- staying in Columbus past this season appears to have flown out the window.

That’s the feeling after Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson conducted a post trade-deadline presser...to tell reporters Nash instigated trade talks by asking for a move out of Columbus.

Yes, seriously.

“He approached us and asked us to [trade] him,” Howson said. “It’s too important for [us] to not make a deal in our best interests. He’s a member of our team. He’s our captain. That’s not going to change.”

Howson said Nash asked for a trade “in the middle to the end of January,” something that took him and the organization “a while to digest.” Howson then re-iterated the Jackets wouldn’t be pressured into moving Nash at the deadline.

“There were very few sellers, that’s why the market was so tight,” Howson explained. “The market will be quite a bit looser in the off-season. Many more teams expressed they’d have more interest in the off-season...We talked to every team.”

Howson’s strategy (assuming there’s a strategy) is fairly unprecedented. One, it chucks Nash so far under the bus he’s licking axles -- how is he supposed to finish the year with a “C” on his jersey?

Two, it reeks of the inmates running the asylum. Even if your players are running the show, you should at least try to give the perception that you’re in charge. Because, you know...you’re in charge.

Predictably, Howson has come under fire in the media.

Mark Spector, Sportsnet: “How about that dressing room in Columbus, where the captain can’t get out fast enough. Can he say, “Follow me, boys!”

Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “With Howson revealing that Nash asked for trade, atmosphere in Columbus could get to be more toxic than the one on Venus.”

EJ Hradek, ESPN: “CBJ GM Scott Howson says Rick Nash approached the team about a trade. No doubt, this relationship will end this summer.”

Bruce Arthur, National Post: “So after being painted as the villain of the piece by his GM just now, I’d like to hear Rick Nash give his press conference.”

We’ll follow-up with more quotes from the Howson presser shortly.