Two weeks prior to the NHL trade deadline, Columbus announced that unlike earlier in the season, they would listen to trade proposals involving Rick Nash, though they were not actively shopping him. Howson stated that the team was open to all options for improving the team, including trading Nash. Speculation was that in return for Nash the Blue Jackets would ask for a "combination of young, proven players, high-end prospects and draft picks." Leading up to the trade deadline, the Blue Jackets dealt Antoine Vermette to the Phoenix Coyotes for two draft picks and goaltender Curtis McElhinney. Despite being injured at the time, the acquisition of McElhinney was believed to give Columbus the flexibility to trade Curtis Sanford. The following day, on February 23, Columbus traded Jeff Carter to the Kings. In the deal, Columbus acquired defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round draft pick; the team was given the choice of taking the pick in either 2012 or 2013. At the deadline, Columbus was unable to come to terms on a deal involving Nash, but they did make one more move; they sent center Samuel Pahlsson to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for two fourth-round draft picks and minor league defenseman Taylor Ellington. Following the trade deadline, Howson announced that the team had attempted to trade Nash at the player's request. Nash stated that he had requested the trade after being informed that the franchise was going into another rebuilding phase. He further noted that he felt that he "could be a huge part of that towards bringing assets in," and in his view "it was the best thing for the team, the organization, and personally for [his] career." After the personnel changes, the Blue Jackets closed out the month with a three-game losing streak.