Wild trade rumor involving Rangers forward Rick Nash. Elite forward on the decline could be traded.

It was a down year for veteran forward Rick Nash, and with signs of a decline in performance as well as his massive cap hit, there are multiple rumors suggesting the New York Rangers will be looking to trade him over the summer. The most credible of these rumors came during a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast were insiders revealed there were indeed rumblings of a trade.

Now Larry Seely of Digital Journal is reporting that the Minnesota Wild are one of the teams in the running for Nash, and believes they may be in a position to make a competitive offer to acquire the offensively gifted forward.

From Seely's report:

Rumors of a potential trade to Minnesota has created a buzz with fans of the Wild. This team struggled to score goals and has a veteran group that needs to win now. Minnesota also has some good young defenseman on the roster, including Marco Scandella and Jonas Brodin, both of whom could be used to acquire the 31-year-old.

While there was no mention of it in Seely's article, this would indicate that the Rangers are almost certainly willing to do one of two things to make this trade happen. Retain some of Nash's salary to maximize the assets they receive in return, or take on some sizable contracts in return, again to maximize the return they would get from trading Nash.

The sheer number of rumors being bandied about with Nash involve lead us to believe that the Rangers are indeed considering the move, and may in fact already be quietly shopping him around the league.