The Columbus Blue Jackets would like to obtain established forwards in exchange for star forward Rick Nash, who has asked to be traded. "If we do complete a trade, we're trading out a 30- to 40-goal scorer," Columbus general manager Scott Howson said. "Defense is probably the strongest part of our team as we look at it today, so we're looking to get some NHL forwards back first and foremost." Howson said he has no timetable to make a deal. He said he has talked to "a number of teams." He also said: "We don't have a deadline. Rick's under contract and we'll continue to work at this, we'll continue to keep Rick in the loop . and we'll just hope that we get a resolution to this." Nash, who has played all nine of his NHL seasons in Columbus, has a salary-cap value of $7.8 million for the next six seasons, according to CapGeek.com.

Rick Nash's shortlist of teams he'd accept a trade to is reportedly Detroit, San Jose, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, and the New York Rangers. Nash was born in Brampton, Ontario, but it looks like he doesn't want to play for Toronto - or anywhere in Canada for that matter. The Ottawa Senators formerly had interest in him, but they pulled out when they believed that Nash wouldn't want to join their team. Columbus is trying to maximize their return from trading Nash and as long as he limits their trading options, their job will be significantly harder.

Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch thinks that the Blue Jackets shouldn't be afraid to keep Rick Nash if they don't get a deal they like. It's become public knowledge that Nash would like to be traded. Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has been demanding a King's ransom for Nash, but there's a belief that one way or another he has to trade him. Oller argued that the fear of a disgruntled Nash hurting the team's chemistry isn't necessarily enough of a deterrent to trade him for less than the Blue Jackets feel he's worth. Ultimately, whether or not it would hurt the team's chemistry to keep him is kind of moot. Although anything is possible, Columbus is not expected to be a serious competitor next season, so this really isn't about whether or not keeping Nash will help or hurt their team in 2012-13. It's about moving on and getting a few key pieces to push along their rebuilding effort in the process.

GM Scott Howson said "we are working very hard" to trade disgruntled forward Rick Nash. The deal could be coming closer as most of the high-end unrestricted free agents have signed in the last week and some team's were shut out of the action. Look for the Rangers, Flyers, Sharks and Red Wings to make a play for the high scoring winger. Stay tuned as this saga has been on-going since February.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the Carolina Hurricanes are pulling out of the Rick Nash sweepstakes. He says the Blue Jackets are believed to be asking for Jeff Skinner as part of the deal, which is a non-starter in negotiations as far as the Canes are concerned. Columbus appears to have scared off another club due to their steep asking price.

The Columbus Blue Jackets might experience some backlash from fans if they ultimately decide to trade Rick Nash to the Detroit Red Wings. Not only are the Red Wings a division rival, but after coming up short in the free agent frenzy, Detroit is a wounded team. If Columbus trades Nash to them, then it could go a long way towards extending Detroit's dynasty. If the Blue Jackets send Nash elsewhere, then Detroit might finally be forced to engage in a rebuilding process. Of course, it's not clear how real the possibility of Nash going to Detroit is, but Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson previously said he'd be willing to trade Nash to a division rival and Nash's limited no-trade clause eliminates some other potential suitors.

Rick Nash is expected to draw interest from the clubs that missed out on Zach Parise. The Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins may get into the picture now along with the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks. All of those teams are reportedly on Nash's approved list of possible destinations and there has been speculation that the list may expand to accommodate a team like the Carolina Hurricanes. However, GM Scott Howson may have to lower his asking price if he wants to get a deal done.

Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson expects the Rick Nash talks to heat up after Zach Parise picks his destination. Nash and his agents have yet to be presented with any kind of trade offers, probably for two reasons: there's a holding pattern across the league as it waits for Parise to sign and because Howson's demands have reportedly been too much. The GM hopes that teams that miss out on Nash, then are more willing to pay the price for his star winger. Of course, Nash has to approve any trade. The Rangers still appear to be the frontrunners, with the Flyers involved and the Red Wings also now in the conversation.

The Carolina Hurricanes are believed to be making offers for Rick Nash even though the organization is reportedly not on his approved list of teams. Nash would have to give the green light for the move to happen if it turns out that the Jackets like their offer enough to move forward. The Hurricanes are still trying to improve their roster despite landing Jordan Staal in a trade with Pittsburgh. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to lure big ticket free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter into the fold, but they aren't done exploring other possibilities and Nash appears to be a good target to start with.

The Ottawa Senators are no longer pursuing Rick Nash. Nash wasn't willing to waive his no-trade clause to play in Ottawa. "There was no sense in chasing - we didn't feel that was necessary," Senators GM Bryan Murray said. This is unfortunate news for Columbus, who have been struggling to find a team willing to meet their high asking price. It's not clear if Ottawa could have come to an agreement with Columbus anyways, but this scratches one interested team off the list.