As of last week, the Columbus Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash was deemed "untouchable" on the trade market.
Teams that had interest in acquiring the 27-year-old were quickly turned down by Columbus general manager Scott Howson.
However, it was announced earlier this morning that for the first time, the Jackets were listening to offers on Nash.
Up until now, the Jackets have looked elsewhere when it came to trades with players like Antoine Vermette, Samuel Pahlsson as well as All-Star center Jeff Carter being mentioned as possible trade targets.
In his eight-year career in Columbus, Nash had never been considered as possibly being traded.
The Ontario-native has been the face of the franchise and the front office has been trying to build the team around him for quite some time now.
However, with the continuing struggles of the past few years, the Jackets are considering possibly going into rebuilding mode, having a fire sale for their players and starting fresh with prospects and draft picks.
The Jackets are looking to get a lot of young talent before the trade deadline this month so they can begin to rebuild on the right foot.
Carter was supposed to be the player that would bring a lot of return for the Blue Jackets, possibly a future franchise goaltender and a high draft pick in the upcoming entry draft.
Carter was the top-line center Columbus was looking for to pair with Rick Nash and was supposed to be the missing puzzle piece to helping the Jackets contend for the playoffs.
However, the 2003 first-round pick has dealt with injuries this season and has struggled on the ice, causing the front office to reconsider their plans for Carter.
A few weeks ago, it was announced that the Jackets were looking to trade Carter and were hoping to get back something similar to what they gave up for him before the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
For the Blue Jackets to get that kind of return will be a tough task as Carter's 11-year contract, with a $5.27 million annual cap hit, is a lot for any team to take on.
There were also reports that Carter's attitude on and off the ice has kept some interested teams away from discussing a possible trade.
The Jackets have struggled in trying to get the return they were hoping for with Carter, which could be the reason for why the Jackets' plans for Nash changed so quickly.
If your first top-15 player does not bring back what you want in way of a trade, why not try your second top-15 player?
If Nash were to be traded, he would undoubtedly bring back the most in return of any Blue Jacket player and could help Columbus substantially with their rebuild.
It was reported by Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch that team owner John P. McConnell, president Mike Priest, Scott Howson, senior advisor Craig Patrick as well as interim head coach Todd Richards recently met and decided that the possibility of trading Nash needed to be explored.
The plan was presented to Nash, as well as his agent Joe Resnick, meaning the next two weeks in Columbus will get very interesting.
Nash currently has a no-movement clause in his contract and can veto any trade proposal so only a select few teams will be able to bid for the Jacket captain.
The next two weeks in Columbus could be the most interesting in the history of the Blue Jackets' franchise as there will no doubt be a considerable shake up.
But when looking at the situation, one wonders if Nash's name would still be brought up had the Jackets been offered what they were looking for with trading Jeff Carter?
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