Glen Sather: We like our team

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NEW YORK -- New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather had conversations with the Columbus Blue Jackets about trading for superstar winger Rick Nash, but no deal was consummated because Sather didn't want to "dismantle" his team.

"I like our team, and I wasn't going to dismantle pieces out of the organization, although it was written just about every different scenario you can imagine. We're not ready to do anything like that," Sather said a little more than three hours after Monday's 3 p.m. trade deadline ended.

Sather could not get into specifics of any discussions because he's not allowed to talk about another team's players that are under contract.

"I don't know what I can tell you about it," Sather said. "It didn't go anywhere."

The Rangers bowed out of the Nash sweepstakes Sunday night, a source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com, because Howson's asking price was too high. The Rangers remained in communication with Columbus Monday, however Howson was unwilling to budge from his demands.

The Rangers, who are seven points ahead in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, coveted Nash's scoring abilities, but not to the extent of having to sacrifice a bevy of young talent, top-tier prospects and a No. 1 draft choice in exchange for his services.

"The price was high, and I don't apologize for that," Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson told reporters in Columbus after the deadline passed. "It had to be high."

With so many teams in the playoff hunt, deals were few and far between. In total, 16 trades were made involving 32 players.

"We talked to a lot of people (Monday), but the way the deals were falling out, it didn't make any sense for us," Sather said. "We like our team, we like where we're at, the youth we have in place, and we're going to stick with it."

Coach John Tortorella said Monday morning that he "liked" his team as well, and wasn't going to concern himself with the deadline. Left winger Brandon Dubinsky's name was prominently mentioned in rumors involving Nash, but remained "pretty confident" he was going to stay. As it turns out, he was right.

The 27-year-old Nash, who has 21 goals and 22 assists in 62 games for Columbus this season, is signed through 2017-18 at an annual cap hit of $7.8 million. Nash made it be known to Howson that he wanted out, the GM admitted during his presser, but no team was willing to meet the Blue Jackets' steep demands. The Rangers could always revisit trying to acquire him in the offseason.

The Rangers did make one minor move, acquiring 6-foot-8, 258-pound enforcer John Scott from the Chicago Blackhawks for a fifth-round pick in the 2012 NHL dntry draft.

Sather likes Scott because of his ability to play both forward and defense. Scott also adds depth in case of injury. The GM said he doesn't know if defenseman Michael Sauer (concussion) will return this season.

"We think we're gonna be fine," Sather said, citing the team's depth in the farm system on the back end.

Sather also hinted, without mentioning his name, that highly-touted collegiate prospect Chris Kreider could turn pro once his junior year at Boston College ends.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. Information from ESPNNewYork.com's Katie Strange was used in this report.

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