As the Rangers get set to retire Jean Ratelle's jersey, the two teams involved in that blockbuster trade over 40 years ago appear near to another deal. New York and Boston looking to be inching closer to Rick Nash joining Nick Holden in the Hub. Work remains, so a trade may not occur tonight, but signs point to Nash wearing the black and yellow before too long.

Full trade:

OFFICIAL: #NYR have acquired a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, defenseman Ryan Lindgren, forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey, and a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft from the Bruins in exchange for Rick Nash.

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 25, 2018

Additional details:

Done deal.#NYR acquire Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Lindgren (unsigned), Boston's own 1st Round pick in 2018 and Boston's own 7th Round pick in 2019. Rangers retain 50 percent of the Nash contract.#Bruins acquire Rick Nash. BOS retains 50 percent of the Beleskey contract

— Sean Hartnett (@HartnettHockey) February 25, 2018

Update as of 9AM:

Not yet official yet because the trade call with NHL has not happened but BOS and NYR have a deal in place for Rick Nash. Return to NYR expected to include BOS first-round pick and prospect defenseman Ryan Lindgren, but there are other elements to the deal as well.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 25, 2018

Dreger, McKenzie and Friedman all tweeted similar information. The leak in New York is strong tonight. Either GM Jeff Gorton is trying to extract more from Boston or looking to engage another team, maybe St. Louis or Winnipeg, to up their offer.

No surprise BOS a potential front runner for Rick Nash. Bruins have their own first-round picks, plus quite a bevy of really solid prospects, such as Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Ryan Lindgren, Trent Frederic etc etc, all of which would be attractive to NYR: https://t.co/2vQI0tC0iR

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 25, 2018

Bruins busy with the Leafs in game, but Boston definitely has interest in Rick Nash. Can they make the cap work? Ongoing discussions.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 25, 2018

Hearing BOS in on Rick Nash tonight...appear to be leading contender

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 25, 2018

Cap constraints will play a part in this team.

We currently project the #Bruins as having $491,370 in available cap space, which is the equivalent of a $2,176,067 cap hit.

Rick Nash has a cap hit of $7.8M, which as of tonight translates to $1,761,290 as the amount of cap space needed to acquiring the pending UFA forward.

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 25, 2018

Right now, as seen from Cap Friendly above, Boston cannot made a deal for Nash directly. The Bruins need to either get a third team involved to take on some cap, make a deal by move cap space or include Matt Beleskey in the deal to New York, who would assume a large chunk of the $3.8 million he is owed in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

If Boston wants to include Beleskey and/or have New York eat a ton of cap space, then a first rounder must be involved and the names listed by McKenzie improved. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Ryan Lindgren and Trent Frederic are nice, but they are a pair of likely bottom-six players and a third pair d-man (Lindgren), though Frederic may have offensive upside. The first rounder will help facilitate a deal. But if NY takes on Beleskey, then we are talking a deal like what Pitt did to get Brassard, because it's now not just one year of cap relief by several, and the prospect needs to at least be of the Filip Gustavsson ilk. Zachary Senyshyn might be a fit, but he is hit or miss, improving from when he was a first-round reach in 2015, but not an elite prospect as of now. One other possible name is Ryan Donato, though he, like Jake DeBrusk, may be untouchable. New York could opt for eating Beleskey's contract and obtaining Brandon Carlo and a first rounder, though to me that's an okay not great deal.

Since we need more intrigue, Patrice Bergeron left the Bruins dressing room after Saturday's game wearing walking boot on right foot/leg. It's way too early to speculate, but if Bergeron is out, could that up the price? Toronto is without Auston Matthews for at least 2-4 weeks due to a Grade 2 shoulder separation following the Cal Clutterbuck hit Thursday. The Maple Leafs could explore the forward market, but are unlikely to expend heavy assets. Boston also is rumored to be interested in Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello.

Gorton needs to be careful not to overplay his hand. He has to balance the goal of maximizing his asset but not burn his opportunity to get a good return. My wife always says, when a pig becomes a hog, that's when it's slaughtered. Don't be overly greedy. If the right, fair deal occurs, make it. Gorton could wait until 3pm Monday, but that could end up being too late, of teams make other trades, limiting the market and lowering the price.

The McDonagh trade market could also be heating up. Besides Boston, Florida, per Friedman below, may be in the mix. The Panthers recently welcomed back Roberto Luongo and are 7-3 in their last 10, sitting five points from the second Wild Card spot but with three games in hand. The tragedy in Parkland also has galvanized the team, with Luongo having lived in that area for the last 12 years.

Couple other quick notes: if WIN looks for a depth LD, one possibility is Viktor Antipin from BUF. He played for Paul Maurice in KHL...also FLA, which snared a huge win tonight, showing serious interest in Ryan McDonagh from NYR.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 25, 2018

I would love Henrik Borgstrom, but that's likely wishful thinking. Owen Tippett and a draft pick, maybe a second rounder, or Adam Mascherin and a first would be a very nice return. The same is true if Aleksi Heponiemi and a high pick. One other team that could use McDonagh is St. Louis, who has slumped lately, as they are now out of a playoff spot and could use a top-pair, left-handed shooting defenseman.

Ratelle Night (from the team's website):

Jean Ratelle spent 16 years in New York, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and was named one of the NHL's best 100 players of all time.

The player Ratelle is one of the best the NHL has ever had. Ratelle amassed 491 goals, 776 assists and 1,267 points in 1,281 career games, each top-10 when he retired following the 1980-81 season. His time in New York puts him in a class few are a part of regardless of sport. The Hall of Famer's 336 goals are second in franchise history, while 481 assists and 817 points are both third in the franchise's 91-year history.

Whenever Rangers fans think of Ratelle, Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield are not far behind. The trio comprised the most successful trio in franchise history, the Goal a Game line, and during the 1971-72 season, it combined for 133 goals and 302 points, the most in team history.

When his time in New York ended with the 1975-76 season, Ratelle left his stamp on the franchise, ranking second in goals, assists and points in addition to a Bill Masterton Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy, a Ted Lindsay Award and four All-Star games.

Ratelle becomes just the ninth player in franchise history to be immortalized with his number being retired, joining former teammates Gilbert, Eddie Giacomin, Harry Howell and Andy Bathgate, as well as recent Blueshirts Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter and Adam Graves.

https://www.nhl.com/rangers/fans/jean-ratelle-night

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