As I mentioned in another Nash thread here, the best baseline for what the Rangers will get is the Gaborik trade that resulted in a 25-year-old second liner (Brassard), a 25-year-old 4th liner (Dorsett) and a 21-year-old third pair defenseman (John Moore) coming back.
Considering that Gaborik:
1. Earned a greater percentage of the cap than Nash;
2. Had a worse year and a similar offensive career;
3. Was much worse defensively;
4. Not as physical;
5. MUCH more injured;
Nash should bring in more than what Gaborik brought back.
Some other players that bought back more than a first rounder:
- Eric Staal got two seconds and a good prospect.
- Sekera got a first and a prospect.
- Coburn got a first, a third and a young defenseman.
- Frederik Anderson got a first rounder and a second.
- Reinhart got a mid-first and a very early second. He then spent half the year in the minors.
Not one of them has anything closely resembling the value of Nash even unretained.