"I went in and sat down with (president) Mike (Priest) and Scott and wondered what the plan was," Nash told the Dispatch. "Everything was going south (at that point). They told me that they were going to rebuild.
"Right then and there I said, 'Well, if that's the plan, why don't you use me as the biggest rebuild piece.' From then on, I thought it would be the best thing for the team and my career."
Howson told the paper he "never thought this was going to be a rebuild completely," as his attempts were to reshape the roster.
Unable to come to terms on a trade before the Feb. 27 trade deadline, Howson addressed the media and revealed that Nash asked to be moved.
According to the Dispatch, Howson told Nash and his agent, Joe Resnick, that he was going public with the news. Thirty-minutes later, he did.
"That's the way they wanted to do it," Nash said. "It was the truth."
Nash controlled his own destiny and wanted to be a part of the New York Rangers organization.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets do not appear to be close on any other trade, however they've made inquiries about Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier and could start searching for an offensive-minded winger.
