St. Louis may be in hunt for Nash

With news leaking Tuesday that Columbus' Rick Nash could be on the move, St. Louis is a possible destination.

Nash, the NHL's No. 1 overall pick in 2002, has a no-trade clause, but with the Blue Jackets floundering in last place in the league's standings, the left winger has apparently let it be known that he'd consider a change.

"As of right now, I'm a Blue Jacket," Nash told the Columbus Dispatch Tuesday.

Nash, 27, played four seasons under former Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock, who's now with the Blues. Hitchcock was fired by Columbus in 2010, but it's believed that the two have mutual respect for each other.

"It's hard for us to comment on other players," said Hitchcock, who was with his team in Columbus Tuesday and was avoiding any chance of tampering with the Blue Jackets captain.

In addition, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong was a member of Team Canada's management staff when Nash won a gold medal with his countrymen at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

While the Blues are in desperate need of a scoring threat, and Nash certainly fits the bill with 277 goals in 649 NHL games, don't get too excited about the prospect of Nash coming to St. Louis. The team is going through an ownership change and Nash has six seasons remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $7.8 million per year.

Nash has been a St. Louis killer in his career, but in the Blue Jackets' 2-1 win over the Blues Tuesday, the winger was held without a point. He did have four shots on goal and six hits against the Blues, who will return to St. Louis to face the New York Islanders Thursday.

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