By signing a long-term deal this summer, Rick Nash proved he wants to be the cornerstone of the Columbus franchise.

Nash around for the long run
By Phil Coffey | NHL.com
Sept. 9, 2005

What Jarome Iginla, Martin Brodeur, Joe Sakic are to their respective teams and cities, Rick Nash is to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

And Columbus President and GM Doug MacLean aims to keep it that way. So, that in a nutshell, is the reason MacLean stepped forward and signed his emerging power forward to a five-year contract this summer, a deal that will see Nash continue to develop and grow into one of the NHL's top stars. The pact means that emergence will happen in a Blue Jackets' uniform.

Draft Day is one of the most exciting moments in a player's career. The future is limitless, the positives without end. But while reality quickly intercedes for most, Nash has become just the kind of player Columbus was seeking when it used the first overall selection of the 2002 Entry Draft to select Nash.

Prior to joining Columbus, Nash spent two seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. There, he scored 63 goals and 75 assists in only 112 games. He played for Canada at the World Junior Championships in 2001-02 and collected OHL Rookie of the Year honors in 2000-01.

His NHL rookie season saw Nash score 17 goals and 22 assists in 74 games for Columbus. Nash made the NHL All-Rookie Team and also was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the League's top rookie. He followed that season up with 41 goals and 16 assists in 80 games in 2003-04. Nash shared the Maurice Richard Trophy for most regular-season goals with Calgary's Iginla and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk. It also made Nash the youngest goal-scoring leader in NHL history.

In fact, Nash, 19, was the first teenager since 1987-88 (Edmonton's Jimmy Carson) to score 40 goals in a season. He also led the NHL in power-play goals (19), was 12th in game-winning goals (7) and made the first of what figures to be several appearances at the NHL All-Star Game.

"In my opinion, Rick Nash is the best young player in the world and I am thrilled for Rick, our organization and our fans that he is going to remain a Blue Jacket," MacLean said at the signing. "At 21 years of age, he has established himself as a true superstar in the game. He is a supremely talented player on the ice and a tremendous person off it. I believe our team is poised to take a major step and Rick is certainly going to play a significant role as our franchise continues to grow."

Nash also is making quite an impression on the international hockey scene. He played for Team Canada at the 2005 World Championships and scored nine goals and six assists in nine games as Canada claimed the silver medal. His nine goals topped the tournament and his 15 points were second overall. He not only secured a spot on the All-Tournament Team, but also earned an invitation to Team Canada's orientation camp for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

It may be scary for the opposition to contemplate, but better days appear to be ahead for Nash.

"Physically I've matured and mentally I've matured," Nash said after signing his contract.

Nash also cited the experience of playing with Boston center Joe Thornton in Switzerland this past season as an eye-opening experience.

"Playing with a guy like Joe Thornton all year, I feel that really helped. To hang out with him all year, I think it changed me as a player."

Certainly, all the positive changes weren't lost on MacLean.

"He's still growing and he's picked up a step," MacLean told reporters after Nash signed. "When I watched him at the world championship, I was giddy. Although I wasn't saying it out loud because I still had to sign him. For us to stabilize this situation for five years is very big for our franchise."

Nash said he likes the dual benefits of long-term security and playing in Columbus.

"Columbus is a first-class organization," Nash told the Canadian Press. "You read ESPN The Magazine two years ago and Columbus was No. 1 rated in terms of fan experience, Minnesota being No. 2 and Yankee Stadium being No. 3. And that was in all sports. They put a good show on here and we average around 17,000 fans a game.

"We've been out the playoffs the last couple of years by early March or even before that, but still sold out some games at the end of the season. It just says a lot about these fans. We're only six hours from Toronto, a hockey hotbed, but not too many people know about this place. But hopefully we can put it on the map sooner rather than later."

Having Nash in the lineup for the next five seasons would sure seem to be a step in that direction.