McKenzie: Rangers may consider trading Rick Nash this summer

The salary cap world is a nutty place.

Bob McKenzie said Thursday that he believes the New York Rangers, who have mortgaged the future to contend for the next several seasons, will consider moving 42-goal scorer Rick Nash to combat salary cap restrictions beginning to weigh on the franchise.

"Mum is the word from the New York Rangers. They're not talking about specifics, but I have to believe one thing that will at least be considered is the possibility of considering trading Rick Nash," McKenzie said on TSN's "Insider Trading."

"With the financial pressure on them, trading Rick Nash is at least something that will get some discussion in New York," he added.

The impetus would be cash, and more specifically, to create it for restricted free agent forwards Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin, but money could also be an obstruction to a deal. Nash will cost $7.9 million against the cap over the next three seasons - a mammoth investment that fellow cap-crunched clubs wouldn't have the capacity to even toy with.

Nash enjoyed his best season in New York, leading the NHL in goals per 60 minutes at even strength and his team with a plus-29 rating. But after supplying meager output for a second straight postseason run, Nash has only cultivated the seed of doubt that he can indeed lead the Rangers to a championship.

He will have a full no-movement clause become a modified no-trade July 1, meaning the Rangers will have 10-12 teams to engage in potential trade discussion.