Both Ansur Khan of MLive.com and Chuck Pleiness of the Macomb Daily heard from a source that the Red Wings made "a hell of an offer" for Nash. Columbus GM Scott Howson had previously indicated that the price for Nash would have include multiple NHL forwards.
That's a pretty steep asking price for any team, including the Wings, who would more than likely have to part with proven talent like Johan Franzen or Valtteri Filppula and perhaps even throw in an up-and-coming star like Darren Helm or Gustav Nyquist.
Despite having those resources to ante up, Khan reports that the negotiation went nowhere with the Blue Jackets, who apparently aren't keen about Nash making them feel miserable on a regular basis as a division rival.
From Khan:
No counteroffer, no back and forth negotiation, nothing. It is clear Columbus has no intention of trading the face of its franchise to the team it considers to be its top rival, a Detroit club that has dominated the Blue Jackets since they entered the NHL in 2000-01.
The last thing Columbus general manager Scott Howson wants to see is Nash being paired with Pavel Datsyuk and his Blue Jackets having to deal with that scenario six times a season.
All of this just underscores how thorny Howson's task is in dealing Nash.
If the list was six teams, it's down to five. The five remaining teams — the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks — are still kicking the tires on signing Shane Doan and Alex Semin, or trading for Bobby Ryan. The winners of those derbies will likely reduce the field again.
Unless Howson decides to make Nash the first domino to fall before those other transactions, it might be in his best interests to continue holding onto Nash, with the hope he expands his trade horizons.
Otherwise, Howson's limited options for getting the proper return for Nash are continuing to dwindle.
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