Comments on: Columnist: Nash painted as the villain in Columbus

By: claysbar

claysbar — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:20:07 +0000

For all the talk that pro sports players get about being selfish, you have to give Nash some credit. He resigned with the “promise” the team would get better and gave them time to prove it. Given their track record, they can’t do much worse with other teams draft picks considering what they have done with their own. Whoever the owner of this team is needs to fire everyone and start over. Patrick would be a good guy to keep on as a interim GM/President, but he also gets a ton of credit for two years trade deadlines when his overall record isn’t all that impressive. Overall, this should be an organization deemed for retraction.

By: drewsylvania

drewsylvania — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:56:13 +0000

Exactly.

By: buckeye044

buckeye044 — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:45:53 +0000

He might be painted as a villain, but Nash is no villain. Problem with this team is and always has been the inability to draft. Look around the league at all the young, early 20 year olds playing, then look at Columbus, a team that has drafted at the top forever.

From the president down to the scouts, this is a poorly run organization and the players in the league know it. No free agent ever comes here unless they are vastly overpaid.

You can trade all the players you want, but you cant build a successful franchise with other teams draft picks.

By: 1943mrmojorisin1971

1943mrmojorisin1971 — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:23:56 +0000

Howson has no leverage and he knows there’s no way he can keep Nash now. He will likely be dealt to one of the five teams on his list for as much or less than the Rangers offered CBJ at the deadline.

By: ikillchicken

ikillchicken — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:14:48 +0000

I actually wonder if this is a good move. Right now Nash is kinda playing hard ball by requesting a trade but offering a very short list of possible trade candidates. The more toxic the situation becomes though the more eager Nash will be to get out of there. If this keeps up he will quickly get fed up and expand his list in the interest of getting the heck out of Columbus already. Plus, no matter how toxic things become it’s never really gonna hurt Columbus to still have Nash because they’re gonna suck regardless. Of course, all this could backfire if Nash gets really pissed off and decided to be even more difficult. Then you’ve either got to trade him for even less or try to wait him out which isn’t going to be good for anybody.

By: govtminion

govtminion — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:09:33 +0000

Hard to argue with that. It’s hard to look at the past decade and see a whole lot of reasons to want to play in Columbus for a free agent. You know you’re going to play for a poor team, one that hasn’t a clue how to draft or develop young talent… why sign there when you could go to a contender, or at least a halfway decent team?

The Oilers had the same problem after Pronger left, remember- and they’ve had to develop talent in-house as a result, because free agents aren’t coming out to play there. It’s worked okay for them so far, but the fact that they’ve had so many early-first-round picks says a lot too.

Thing is, Columbus is even worse off- they too can’t land free agents due to the bad reputation the team has, but they can’t draft either- there’s no Nugent-Hopkins or Hall to save the day here. Combine that with the massive loss of money every year (remember that one last summer?), and it’s clear this team is in big trouble.

By: east96st

east96st — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:24:02 +0000

“Those players who are set to become free agents in the summer will remember how Howson handled the situation.”

Let’s be honest, even before yesterday, no player is his right mind would come to Columbus if he had ANY other opportunities to play elsewhere. Yesterday’s “Howson’s Hypocrisy” fiasco was merely the final nail in the coffin. There is nothing here to offset the agony of playing for the worst run team in professional sports. Honestly, as a current season ticket holder, I would advise players to consider Russia and Europe before signing with Columbus. You can’t win with these idiots in charge. The franchise is dead until another owner can be found.

By: hawknuts

hawknuts — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:13:43 +0000

this franchise is run like a joke, the fans are the ones who suffer

By: bcisleman

bcisleman — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:51:21 +0000

I agree that Howson was unwise to out Nash, but Resnick had really already done that with his comments.

At the end of the day, Nash doesn’t want to come off as another Heatley or Lindros, so he’ll likely work with CLB to get the best possible deal for them.