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Boston Bruins: Rick Nash didn’t do his job in 2018

By Sam Minton

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 14: Rick Nash #61 of the Boston Bruins celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 14, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 14: Rick Nash #61 of the Boston Bruins celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 14, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The Boston Bruins acquired Rick Nash to help them make a run for the playoffs, but once again Nash disappeared in the postseason.

When the Boston Bruins acquired Rick Nash at the trade deadline, Bruins fans were cautiously optimistic. Nash is nearing the end of his career but he seemed to fit the Bruins system so well.

He is a big body who can stand in front of the net and knock home rebounds, but he can also score some pretty goals as well.

With the Bruins Nash had 3 goals and 3 assists in 11 games. That’s around a point every two games. Nash found success on the Bruins 2nd line and performed pretty well before getting injured.

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Once the postseason came he just seemed to once again fade away. Nash has struggled in the postseason his entire career. When the stakes are at its highest Nash seems to wither away. In his best postseason he had 14 points in 19 games. David Pastrnak had 20 points this postseason in just 12 games. He was impressive in game 1 of the Tampa Bay Series scoring two goals, but besides that Nash was basically nonexistent.

No way Rick Returns

Nash is now an unrestricted free agent and I see no scenario where the Bruins bring him back.

Nash will be turning 34 in June and is past his prime. The Bruins need to stay young and not be weighed down by Nash. Also Nash will be looking for a similar paycheck to what he has now. This was the final year of Nash’s gigantic 8 year $62 million contract. He definitely won’t be getting a payday like that, but Nash will probably be looking for something around $5 million a year.

The Bruins should avoid him like the plague. The move at the deadline had good intentions since the Bruins were banged up and needed some depth, but the Bruins got healthy and Nash stopped producing.

Next: Riley Nash showed out in 2018

Rick Nash is a solid player, but there are literally 5 million better ways to spend the cap space he would fill.

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