While Rick Nash has been rumored to be traded by Columbus, there appears to be no chance that he would get traded to the Capitals ahead of the trade deadline according to a tweet from Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun via Columbus writer Aaron Portzline.
Nucks not on Rick Nash's 'approved list', says Columbus writer Aaron Portzline. The five are: Leafs, Bruins, NYR, Sharks, Kings. #canucks
— Elliott Pap (@ElliottPap) February 16, 2012
This comes as no real surprise as the Capitals would probably have to give up a lot of prospects or even some other leaders on this team in order to land Nash. Not only that, landing him would put the Capitals on the hook for a $7.8 million cap hit through the end of the 2018 season. In short, it would cost too much in manpower and dollars to seriously consider trading for him.
Add to that the fact that Evgeny Kuznetsov will more than likely be on the Capitals roster next season, there's no reason to mortgage things to get Nash.