Rangers’ Nash’s Legacy in Danger

By: Michael Abitabilo

Everyone is familiar with the numbers by now: 23, 1, 11, 0, 3-1, 7.8 million.

Fair or unfair, these are the numbers that are beginning to define Rick Nash. In 23 playoff games as a New York Ranger, Nash has scored a grand total of 1 goal. In 11 playoff games this year, he has scored 0 goals. And with the Rangers trailing their second round series 3-1, their $7.8 million man is in danger of becoming known as a very good player who failed to elevate his game when it mattered most.

To put Nash’s struggles into perspective, here is a list of players who have scored more goals than Rick Nash this postseason

(for the sake of reference, former Rangers’ names appear in red, while current Rangers are listed in blue):

Rk	Player	Tm	G ▾
1	Marian Gaborik	LAK	6
2	Jussi Jokinen	PIT	6
3	Bryan Bickell	CHI	5
4	Patrick Kane	CHI	5
5	Evgeni Malkin	PIT	5
6	Paul Stastny	COL	5
7	Jamie Benn	DAL	4
8	Rene Bourque	MTL	4
9	Mikael Granlund	MIN	4
10	Anze Kopitar	LAK	4
11	Milan Lucic	BOS	4
12	Zach Parise	MIN	4
13	Wayne Simmonds	PHI	4
14	Brandon Sutter	PIT	4
15	Vladimir Tarasenko	STL	4
16	Jonathan Toews	CHI	4
17	Justin Williams	LAK	4
18	Patrice Bergeron	BOS	3
19	Nick Bonino	ANA	3
20	Kyle Brodziak	MIN	3
21	Jeff Carter	LAK	3
22	Charlie Coyle	MIN	3
23	Pavel Datsyuk	DET	3
24	Lars Eller	MTL	3
25	Brendan Gallagher	MTL	3
26	Ryan Garbutt	DAL	3
27	Ryan Getzlaf	ANA	3
28	Carl Hagelin	NYR	3
29	Nick Holden	COL	3
30	Jarome Iginla	BOS	3
31	Boone Jenner	CBJ	3
32	Jack Johnson	CBJ	3
33	Chris Kunitz	PIT	3
34	Gabriel Landeskog	COL	3
35	Patrick Marleau	SJS	3
36	Corey Perry	ANA	3
37	Tomas Plekanec	MTL	3
38	Benoit Pouliot	NYR	3
39	Brad Richards	NYR	3
40	Reilly Smith	BOS	3
41	P.K. Subban	MTL	3
42	Tyler Toffoli	LAK	3
43	Thomas Vanek	MTL	3
44	Mats Zuccarello	NYR	3
45	Jason Akeson	PHI	2
46	Matt Beleskey	ANA	2
47	Dustin Brown	LAK	2
48	Brent Burns	SJS	2
49	Matt Calvert	CBJ	2
50	Daniel Carcillo	NYR	2
51	Zdeno Chara	BOS	2
52	Trevor Daley	DAL	2
53	Cody Eakin	DAL	2
54	Nick Foligno	CBJ	2
55	Brian Gibbons	PIT	2
56	Claude Giroux	PHI	2
57	Dougie Hamilton	BOS	2
58	Erik Haula	MIN	2
59	Tomas Hertl	SJS	2
60	Marian Hossa	CHI	2
61	Ryan Johansen	CBJ	2
62	Duncan Keith	CHI	2
63	Torey Krug	BOS	2
64	Kris Letang	PIT	2
65	Trevor Lewis	LAK	2
66	Ben Lovejoy	ANA	2
67	Nathan MacKinnon	COL	2
68	Patrick Maroon	ANA	2
69	Alec Martinez	LAK	2
70	Jamie McGinn	COL	2
71	Dominic Moore	NYR	2
72	Jake Muzzin	LAK	2
73	James Neal	PIT	2
74	Nino Niederreiter	MIN	2
75	Matthew Nieto	SJS	2
76	Matt Niskanen	PIT	2
77	Ryan O’Reilly	COL	2
78	T.J. Oshie	STL	2
79	Ondrej Palat	TBL	2
80	Joe Pavelski	SJS	2
81	Mathieu Perreault	ANA	2
82	Brandon Saad	CHI	2
83	Marco Scandella	MIN	2
84	Brent Seabrook	CHI	2
85	Teemu Selanne	ANA	2
86	Andrew Shaw	CHI	2
87	James Sheppard	SJS	2
88	Devante Smith-Pelly	ANA	2
89	Jared Spurgeon	MIN	2
90	Martin St. Louis	NYR	2
91	Steven Stamkos	TBL	2
92	Lee Stempniak	PIT	2
93	Derek Stepan	NYR	2
94	Joe Thornton	SJS	2
95	Raffi Torres	SJS	2
96	Jakub Voracek	PHI	2
97	Dale Weise	MTL	2
98	Craig Adams	PIT	1
99	Bryan Allen	ANA	1
100	Artem Anisimov	CBJ	1
101	Cam Atkinson	CBJ	1
102	Beau Bennett	PIT	1
103	Francis Bouillon	MTL	1
104	Johnny Boychuk	BOS	1
105	Brian Boyle	NYR	1
106	Derick Brassard	NYR	1
107	Justin Braun	SJS	1
108	Daniel Briere	MTL	1
109	Mike Brown	SJS	1
110	Matt Carle	TBL	1
111	Jordan Caron	BOS	1
112	Alex Chiasson	DAL	1
113	Andrew Cogliano	ANA	1
114	Logan Couture	SJS	1
115	Adam Cracknell	STL	1
116	Sidney Crosby	PIT	1
117	David Desharnais	MTL	1
118	Drew Doughty	LAK	1
119	Brandon Dubinsky	CBJ	1
120	Loui Eriksson	BOS	1
121	Vernon Fiddler	DAL	1
122	Justin Florek	BOS	1
123	Matt Fraser	BOS	1
124	Brian Gionta	MTL	1
125	Dan Girardi	NYR	1
126	Luke Glendening	DET	1
127	Alex Goligoski	DAL	1
128	Erik Gustafsson	PHI	1
129	Dany Heatley	MIN	1
130	Victor Hedman	TBL	1
131	Shawn Horcoff	DAL	1
132	Matt Irwin	SJS	1
133	Barret Jackman	STL	1
134	Erik Johnson	COL	1
135	Tyler Johnson	TBL	1
136	Alex Killorn	TBL	1
137	Dwight King	LAK	1
138	Mikko Koivu	MIN	1
139	Niklas Kronwall	DET	1
140	Marcus Kruger	CHI	1
141	Nikita Kucherov	TBL	1
142	Maxim Lapierre	STL	1
143	Vincent Lecavalier	PHI	1
144	Mark Letestu	CBJ	1
145	Andrew MacDonald	PHI	1
146	Derek MacKenzie	CBJ	1
147	Cody McCormick	MIN	1
148	Cody McLeod	COL	1
149	Matt Moulson	MIN	1
150	Valeri Nichushkin	DAL	1
151	Johnny Oduya	CHI	1
152	Brooks Orpik	PIT	1
153	Max Pacioretty	MTL	1
154	Daniel Paille	BOS	1
155	Kyle Palmieri	ANA	1
156	P.A. Parenteau	COL	1
157	Tanner Pearson	LAK	1
158	Alex Pietrangelo	STL	1
159	Jason Pominville	MIN	1
160	Chris Porter	STL	1
161	Teddy Purcell	TBL	1
162	Rickard Rakell	ANA	1
163	Matt Read	PHI	1
164	Mike Richards	LAK	1
165	Michal Rozsival	CHI	1
166	Colton Sceviour	DAL	1
167	Luke Schenn	PHI	1
168	Jaden Schwartz	STL	1
169	Tyler Seguin	DAL	1
170	Patrick Sharp	CHI	1
171	Kevin Shattenkirk	STL	1
172	Jakob Silfverberg	ANA	1
173	Ben Smith	CHI	1
174	Marc Staal	NYR	1
175	Alex Steen	STL	1
176	Jarret Stoll	LAK	1
177	Clayton Stoner	MIN	1
178	Mark Streit	PHI	1
179	Ryan Suter	MIN	1
180	Fedor Tyutin	CBJ	1
181	Marc-Edouard Vlasic	SJS	1
182	Slava Voynov	LAK	1
183	Mike Weaver	MTL	1
184	Henrik Zetterberg	DET	1

The truth is, plenty of Rangers have underperformed this postseason. In fact, it would be easier to list the Rangers players who have played well (Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal (most of the time), and Dominic Moore) than those who haven’t (pretty much everyone else). The difference? Expectations.

Let’s go back a few years to when Nash was acquired. The perception was that the Rangers were one explosive offensive star from being a true Stanley Cup contender. Having lost the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals in six games to the New Jersey Devils, the Rangers thought Nash was the dynamic goal scorer who would push them to the next level. And so the Rangers sent fan favorites Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, along with defense prospect Tim Erixon and a two draft picks to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Nash. Nash’s acquisition seemingly created a redundancy at right wing, and so a few months later, the Rangers sent Marian Gaborik to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Derick Brassard, John Moore, and Derek Dorsett.

Along with the perception of being an elite goal scorer, Nash brought with him the final six years and $47.4 million of his contract. Nash’s $7.8 million salary cap figure is the 8th highest in the league this season. Among forwards, only Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry, Eric Staal, and Ryan Getzlaf have a higher average annual value.

Maybe it wasn’t fair for the Rangers and their fans to expect Nash to perform at the level of those six players. But Nash’s postseason production has been abysmal, and the Rangers seem further from a Stanley Cup today than they did two years ago. That Gaborik now sits right there at the top of that playoff scoring list only serves to pour salt in a wound that is worsening by the game.

Nash was serenaded with boos during the Rangers game four loss to the Penguins at Madison Square Garden, despite the fact that he was one of the few players who created any offensive chances. Nash’s coaches and teammates have consistently lauded Nash’s work ethic and desire to score and win. But when it comes to superstar players, New York fans aren’t interested in things like effort or chances; they want results.

The Rangers aren’t one game away from the end of their season because of Nash’s production (or lack thereof). The truth is, they aren’t a good enough team. But for Nash, there is more on the line tonight than delaying what seems to be the inevitable end to the Rangers’ season. In a strange way, tonight could be a legacy-defining game for Nash. If Nash were to score a few goals and help force a game 6, at least some of the pressure would be alleviated. But if Nash and the Rangers go quietly into the night versus Pittsburgh, number 61 will be surrounded by questions regarding his ability to perform in the postseason for the next 11 months, regardless of how he performs during the 2014-2015 regular season.

The Rangers need a big game tonight. Rick Nash needs one worse.

* * *

Mike Abitabilo is the co-founder of the Read Zone, and is mentally preparing for the Rangers’ season to end.

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[…] days ago, Rick Nash was being booed on home ice, and his legacy was in jeopardy. Ten days ago, Brad Richards seemed on the verge of playing his last game as a Ranger, with the […]

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