Rick Nash, no longer a physical player.

Rick Nash is a changed man. Long forgotten are last season's woes, and he's moved on to greener pastures.  The former goal scoring guru is back to his old ways this year, with 16 goals so far through the first 22 games of the season, good for 2nd in the NHL. After a short-handed tally this afternoon, Mike Emrick asked Eddie Olczyk what surprised him more: his struggles last season, or his bounce back so far this year. Ed's response:

I was more surprised, Doc, with how physical he was last year. I thought he was an effective player, I mean he had chances, he didn't have as many chances, but I think he was just trying to do everything. He was trying to get in on the forecheck, he was trying to hit players ... I would say probably more last year, Doc with the way that he played, or he was trying to be a really physical player, which, you gotta be a physical player in this league, but the way he was playing, I think, was more surprising. 

Rick Nash, hit totals by season, since 2007-08:

2007-08: 80GP, 67 Hits
2008-09: 78GP, 71 Hits
2009-10: 76GP, 121 Hits
2010-11: 75GP, 91 Hits
2011-12: 82GP, 104 Hits
2012-13: 44GP, 46 Hits
2013-14: 65GP, 11 Hits
2014-15: 22GP, 21 Hits

Does anything stick out here? I'm noticing something about Nash's level of physical play last season.  Eddie might have have accidentally stumbled onto something. Sometimes you can properly address a problem, even with all the wrong information.  Another thing worth noting though might be his opportunity. After averaging around 19-20 minutes/game for his entire career, his level dropped to 17:01 last season.  The shot totals were there, and realistically, so were the goals. 26 goals in 65 games isn't so bad, it's just, ya know...expectations and stuff.  That, and the 13 assists last season.

The boring truth, though, is probably that he's just been lucky this year, after being unlucky last season. With a career 12.7 shot percentage, that number dropped to 10.1% last year, the second lowest mark of his career. So far this year, 20% of his shots are going in the net. Eventually this is going to regress, and Eddie will blame the slump on lack of discipline in the defensive zone, or something of that ilk.

Thank you for joining us for the 2010 talent auction!

In what has become a regular occurence for us here at this point during the NHL season, trade talk is surely starting to heat up! What does that mean?... Well, we're probably going to be disappointed since 2% of these proposed trade rumo(u)rs will actually gain some steam, and then 2% of those rumo(u)rs will actually maybe possibly kind of happen in shades of gray.



The big name on the market is Mr. I.L.oathe.Y.ou.Atlanta Kovalchuk, and there have been plenty of rumo(u)rs that have him moving to every single city throughout the world before the end of the season. Trash GM Mother Waddell is going to lose big time in this situation either way unless he finds a way to trade his superstar for a similar superstar, which is not going to happen. This is usually the story with pending-UFA superstars as is, but Atlanta knows this story all too well. In what could be our fourth installment of "Better Than" is Colby Armstrong better than Marian Hossa? Millions say no, all of Southeast Michigan says yes.



The rumour that has gained that necessary early steam is a deal that has Kovalthorpe heading to the Saddledome in exchange for Phaneuf. Surely Atlanta would probably warrant a 1st round pick and a higher-level prospect as well, but this deal does not make sense for them. While this would give ATL one of the more solid defensive units, they can't put in all their goals from the point. A more realistic option for Atlanta would be to acquire Olli Jokinen and perhaps another forward such as sniper Nigel Dawes or 2nd-line center Dustin Boyd...

Okay, I'm just gonna stop there and say that Calgary and Atlanta will not be making a deal involving Kovalchuk. While both have assets that could be beneficial to either club, trading such assets away would leave big holes in important spots on the roster. Nix this deal; next bidder!

Chicago has also been rumoured to be interested in Kovy. They definitely have the assests to give up without leaving themselves vulnerable (Barker, Versteeg, Bolland, Byfuglien, Seabrook, Ben Eager!) and placing Kovalchuk in the mix with Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp and Keith makes Chicago one ridiculously talented club that's more than geared up for the playoffs. Sadly though, I can't seem them making this move, either. Chicago has the arsenal for a deep playoff run as they are and adding Kovalchuk would be an unnecessary, although delicious, move to make. They spent the last decade developing this cast into a premature powerhourse and adding a rental player only hinders their chances for future success. As a long-time fan of the Hawks, I really wouldn't appreciate only a couple years of great hockey from this team when they could be Cup contenders for at least the next five years and more. Nix this deal; next bidder!

Washington... wait, what? How the fuck is that possible!? They already have two ridiculous Russian left wingers, there's no need for a third one. For the sake of the team and their future, Washington better just keep dreaming. Nix this deal; next bidder!

Hmm... The Boston Bruins. I don't have an initial argument as to why they can't acquire Kovalchuk, so let's look into it. Boston's struggling without a true goal-scorer this season, and Kovalchuk and Savard have played together at TSX before, so chemistry could easily be rekindled. Boston's trade bait could include Marco Sturm, one of David Krejci or Milan Lucic, Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick. Add Boston's 1st round pick into what's available (as they still have a chance to win the Taylor Hall award with Toronto's pick) and they can put together an appealing package for Atlanta.

Marco Sturm, Milan Lucic, Boston's 2010 1st round pick, Tampa Bay's 2010 2nd round pick (acquired with Mark Recchi) and an autographed picture of Sergei Samsonov holding the Calder Trophy in exchange for Ilya Kovalchuk. Let's make it happen!