NYR! Go find a Goalscorer | July 22, 2012 by jamie_lufc

On a recent trip to the Big Apple, I took the time to go visit Madison Square Garden and there was a wall which was covered in current Rangers players such as Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik and Brian Boyle and I couldn’t help but think how good would it be if the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup.

Last season was a good one for the Blueshirts, winning the Atlantic division (with a 51-24-7 record), but ultimately they fell just short of making their first Stanley Cup apperance since the 1993-1994 season, beating the Vancouver Canucks over 7 games, when they lost 4-2 to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Evaluating the season as a whole, it was obvious that the roster was in desprate need of another goalscorer if they are going to claim the biggest prize in Hockey.

With one of the best Goaltenders in the league in Henrik Lundqvist and with Defencemen like Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto, the men who call ‘The Garden’ their home have got a strong defensive game. However, with Marian Gaborik being the only player to score over 30 goals, and Brad Richards (25) and Ryan Callahan (29) making it only 3 Rangers players to score over 20 goal, it is obvious there is a gaping hole in the teams offence.

So with this, it got me thinking… Who can fill this hole for the Rangers?

As free agency set in there was one player that was in huge demand. The Minnesota Wild won the race to sign New Jersey Devils hotshot Zach Parise, leaving the Rangers still searching for a goalscorer.

With the addition of players such as Taylor Pyatt, Jeff Halpern & Arron Asham the forward line has got some depth to it, but it still doesn’t amend the need for a scorer.

The ideal candidate to fill this void is the Columbus Blue Jackets forward, Rick Nash.

Nash would provide the Rangers with a winger who knows how to find the net on a consistent basis. Out of his 9 NHL seasons he has scored 30 or more goals in 7 of them and has scored a total of 289 in the league (regular season figures).

To go with this, he has recorded 20 or more assists and 50 or more points (regular season) in 8 of his season with the Blue Jackets.

Adding a player of this calibre would not only help other players get their fair share of goals, but it would also give them the consistent goalscorer that the roster craves.

Throw into the mix that Nash has made it known that he wants out of Columbus and it becomes the perfect time to strike.

What it would take, I will leave that up to you.