Notes: Los Angeles Kings Attempting to Trade for Rick Nash

February 14, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Rick Nash (61) catches a puck on the end of his stick before the game against the St. Louis Blues at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE

There’s no secret that the Kings need to somehow figure out how to score more than a goal per week, on a good week. A possible fix to the solution may be Columbus Blue Jackets winger Rick Nash. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Kings are closing in on being the top candidate to land Nash, who leads the Blue Jackets in scoring, with 19 goals and a total of 40 points.

Bob McKenzie says Kings inching to lead on Rick Nash. Our take is major factor is NYR refusal to put Derek Stepan into the bargain.

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) February 21, 2012

While TSN and The Fourth Period have the Kings landing Nash, ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun is taking more of pessimistic view on the Kings’ ties with Nash, listing them third behind the Rangers and Flyers in the Rick Nash Sweepstakes. Here’s what LeBrun had to say today on ESPN.com:

I’m pretty sure the Kings weren’t even on Nash’s famous short list when all this began, but no matter, L.A. GM Dean Lombardi has had a few conversations with the Jackets nonetheless. After all, list or no list, the Jackets need to determine what the best offer is out there, then see how Nash feels about it. The Kings have some pretty attractive assets, including young goalie Jonathan Bernier and blueliner Jack Johnson. More importantly, there’s incredible pressure on Lombardi to find a fix for his goal-starved team, which remains last in the NHL in offense. If he strikes out on Nash, Jeff Carter could be the consolation prize.

We’ve heard Jeff Carter’s name bantered about before as well, and you have to imagine that if the Kings were land Carter instead of Nash, the Los Angeles Flyers name just might stick for good. Well, him or James van Riemsdyk.

Lastly, our good friend of the program, Bobby Scribe over at Surly and Scribe came up with the Kings potential lineup, should they acquire Nash in exchange for Jack Johnson and Jonathan Bernier. You have to sort of like this, if you’re a Kings fan looking for offense, knowing how much depth the Kings have on defense and in goal:

Penner-Kopitar-Nash (the tri tower line)
Clifford-Richards-Williams (brawn-brains-beauty line)
Nolan-Stoll-Brown (Brown is not a top 6 forward on a Cup contender line)
Richardson-Fraser-Lewis (crash boom bang line)
(extras: Westgarth and King)

Doughty-Mitchell
Voynov-Scuderi
Greene-Martinez

Quick
Backup (I weep for Jonathan Bernier)

We’ll have more on the potential trade for Rick Nash, including a breakdown of Nash, and just how he’ll help the Kings, should they acquire him. Stay tuned.