Dreaming of Detroit? You can take them off the list, Rick. (Getty Images)

Another day, another no-go on a potential Rick Nash trade out of Columbus.

We're going on about six months strong of waiting for the Blue Jackets captain to be traded out of Columbus after he requested a trade. Obviously any and all offers thus far have been turned down by Jackets GM Scott Howson. Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports the most recent came from Detroit.

The Red Wings made "a hell of an offer" to Columbus for Nash, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. But the offer generated no conversation.

No counteroffer, no back and forth negotiation, nothing.

Khan went on to say the particulars of the offer aren't known but he did surmise who might have been in the offer to fit the description.

It is not certain what the Red Wings offered. Howson recently told TSN's Geno Reda that he is seeking at least two NHL-ready forwards in return for Nash because he likes his defense.

The Red Wings, in need of a top-pair defenseman, would be more inclined to relinquish a couple of NHL forwards in addition to prospects and draft picks.

Which forwards might the Red Wings move to get a franchise player like Nash? The two that come to mind are Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula, though it's unlikely Detroit would deal both.

Time for a quick NHL geography lesson for you: These two are in the same Central Division and at least the Jackets consider these two teams rivals. Some GMs abide by not trading a star player within the division as a cardinal rule. It only adds insult to injury having to see your former captain against your team six times a season, it makes the pain of the breakup harder to handle, particularly for the fans. It's a good way to make the trade linger longer over your franchise -- unless it works out really well for the home team.

But it might also be a bit short-sighted for the Blue Jackets. It's possible that the Red Wings will only be in a division with the Blue Jackets for one more season if the NHL gets a new realignment look passed in the CBA negotiations this summer. If they backtrack on the four-conference format and go to the least disruptive route by flipping just one team to the East then the Jackets missed out on "a hell of an offer." However that realignment idea could be completely off the table and Howson knows the Jackets and Wings will remain division/conference foes.

Assuming the offer was really as good as the source indictated to Khan you can safely cross Detroit off the list I'd presume. That leaves five other teams that are supposedly on Nash's approved list: The Rangers, Bruins, Sharks, Flyers and Penguins. Of that list it would seem that it might be Rangers or bust, unless Nash expands that list.

Speaking of the Rangers we know all along they have been interested and really have been the favorite but the asking price was way too high for them to really consider a swap with Columbus. As time goes on and deals are turned down, things look better and better for the Rangers as Kevin Delury of The NY Rangers Blog points out.

...if you add Nash possibly not reporting to training camp to this scenario, Sather's patience will have paid off as Howson will have no alternative other than to trade his captain to the Rangers for a discount price. Meaning the Blueshirts will likely not have to part with any young NHL roster players.

There's the operative word in this whole scenario: patience. Howson is showing a tremendous amount of it, forcing Nash and the rest of us to exercise some too.

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