from Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post,

Rick Nash was expecting it, but that didn’t make it any easier when it finally became a reality.

Nash was asked by general manager Jeff Gorton to submit his list of 18 teams he would not accept a trade to, meaning there are 12 remaining that Gorton can deal with in the lead-up to the Feb. 26 deadline. The 33-year-old Nash is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer as his eight-year, $62.4 million deal expires.

Maybe never quite living up to the $7.8 million annual salary-cap hit, Nash always had huge respect inside the locker room and around the league. Now it’s up to Gorton to see what he can get in return as his team prepares for a retooling.

“It’s disappointing, it sucks,” Nash said before his (current) team’s game against the Stars on Monday night. “I love being a Ranger, love being in New York. It’s just the things that happen when your team doesn’t win and they have to make business decisions. It’s really disappointing.”

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