BOSTON — The Rangers have conquered distractions all season — including the late September/early October tour through Europe, the omnipresent cameras that recorded HBO’s “24/7” series and the Winter Classic in Philadelphia on Jan. 2 — to roll to a nine-point lead in the Eastern Conference, a 10-point lead in the Atlantic Division and first overall in the NHL with a .718 percentage.
Now, however, the Rangers face potentially the most damaging distraction of them all: players dealing with being named in trade speculation in advance of the Feb. 27 deadline, and those specifically who might be involved in a possible mega-deal for Blue Jackets star wing Rick Nash.
“As things heat up, it’s probably a good idea to discuss it in the room,” Brad Richards told The Post before last night’s 3-0 triumph over the Bruins. “It can be a very difficult situation for a player to hear his name involved in trade rumors.
“It’s a part of our business, and you have to learn how to deal with it and to trust things will work out for the best, but having gone through it twice, I know it affected me the first time [before going from Tampa Bay to Dallas at the 2008 deadline] and I know that it can have an impact on a player and a team.”
As reported yesterday on NYPost.com, the Rangers have held preliminary talks with the Blue Jackets regarding Nash, the 27-year-old, 6-foot-4, 220-pound power forward who has a contract with a cap hit of $7.8 million per that runs through 2017-18.
That does not mean Nash, who owns a no-move clause, is en route to Broadway. That does not mean Rangers general manager Glen Sather will be willing to yield a package of young assets and disrupt the team’s singular chemistry in order to add the scoring help he is seeking going to into the playoffs.
Indeed, a source familiar with the situation told The Post bringing Nash to New York is “a longshot.”
Still, that will not prevent speculation on the players — in addition to Boston College junior winger Chris Kreider, the 19th overall selection in the 2009 Entry Draft who may sign as soon as his season ends and is considered a can’t-miss prospect — who could go the other way.
The Post had been told the opening asking price for Nash is in excess of the package speculated to feature Brandon Dubinsky, Kreider and a first-round draft choice.
It is likely Columbus GM Scott Howson has asked for Derek Stepan and/or Ryan McDonagh in addition to Kreider, a first-rounder and perhaps Dubinsky. Artem Anisimov, Carl Hagelin and Michael Del Zotto — in other words, pretty much the entire stable — are also potential targets.
Nash has 18 goals this year and has scored between 27 and 41 goals in each of the last seven seasons after getting 17 as a rookie while playing for an habitually bad team. He’s not only a legitimate offensive weapon, but a huge presence as well.
But he is a presence who would distinctly alter the makeup of the Black-and-Blueshirts and who, having played his entire career in a small market, would be under both the spotlight and under enormous immediate pressure in New York following a trade that would by definition be high-risk, potentially high-reward.
“It’s not for me to comment on possible trades, but I do know the organization has a long-range plan that I don’t believe it will deviate from,” Richards said. “The plan as it’s been explained to me is to build and grow through the system.
“If there’s a trade, I would expect it to be part of the process. I don’t believe there’s been a change in the plan.”