His name is being batted around by many of the teams in the league. If he were to actually indicate a real desire to leave the Columbus Blue Jackets, it is likely that Rick Nash Mania would go to a full boil rather than the constant simmer it is sitting at currently. Nash, arguably the face of the Blue Jackets, is not playing his best hockey, to say the least, but he is right now, its hottest topic.

Nash, has nineteen goals so far this season, arguably one of the very worst of the Blue Jacket's history, which will likely leave him short of his usual total goal count.Collectively, Columbus is sitting in the very basement of the NHL with a mere forty points, fifteen below the next to last team. The team's woes cannot be pinned entirely on one spot- the entire roster has been plagued by inconsistent play, lackluster performance, discipline issues and injuries. Steve Mason who won the Calder for the NHL's top rookie in 2009 has only notched seven wins this season and has a 3.47 goals against average. His backing goalie has ten wins and a better goals against. But, even if both goalies were playing their best, there are two many holes on the ice around them for it to matter. The team's home record is 10-16-3 and away from Nationwide Arena, they are even worse, with a 7-19-3 record.

There are several teams that are interested in Nash, reportedly including the Philadelphia Flyers, the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers. The rumor mill has also mentioned the Vancouver Canucks as a potential suitor for the right winger. However, his contract hit is a big one and may keep many teams from making a serious offer for him. Blue Jacket management have no obligation to trade him at this point in his contract and Nash has not directly said whether he wants to go or not. The Flyers are not having a problem scoring but have defensive holes- making them the least likely of the teams to make a serious offer.

If Nash is interested in a realistic shot at the Stanley Cup, though, it might be time for him to consider a trade that takes him out of Columbus. The Blue Jackets have only made the playoffs one time, that coming in 2009. The team was swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, but instead of coming back the next season with a full head of steam, made a number of major errors.

The deadline for all trades is February 27th.