The Columbus Blue Jackets have promoted Chris Clark to assistant general manager and Rick Nash to director of player personnel/development, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced today. Clark, Nash and Laurence Gilman, who was named vice-president of hockey operations on January 6, form the Blue Jackets’ hockey operations senior leadership team with each reporting directly to Waddell.
“Chris Clark and Rick Nash have each done an exceptional job as members of our hockey operations leadership group and are very deserving of these promotions,” said Waddell. “They are former Blue Jackets players who care very deeply about this organization. They are intelligent, extremely hard-working and committed to our succeeding at the highest level and I am excited that they will continue to play important roles here as we move forward.”
Clark, 49, has served as the club’s director of player personnel and general manager of the Cleveland Monsters, the organization’s American Hockey League affiliate, since 2019 after spending the previous seven years as a development coach and director of player personnel from 2012-19. Internationally, he served as general manager of the United States Men's National Team that competed at the 2023 IIHF World Championships in Tampere, Finland.
The South Windsor, Connecticut, native registered 103-111-214 and 700 penalty minutes in 607 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals and Calgary Flames over 11 seasons from 1999-2011, including 8-12-20 and 59 penalty minutes in 89 games with Columbus from 2009-11. He spent four-plus seasons with the Capitals, tallying 60-63-123 and 278 penalty minutes in 240 games with the club and served as captain from 2006-09.
Calgary’s third-round pick, 77th overall, in the 1994 NHL Draft, Clark earned All-ECAC honors during four seasons at Clarkson University from 1994-98. He then spent six seasons in the Flames organization from 1998-04 and helped the club reach the 2004 Stanley Cup Final.
Nash, 41, has been a member of the club’s hockey operations department since June 2019 when he was named special assistant to the general manager. He was promoted to director of player development two years later and has served as director of hockey operations since September 2024.
Nash tallied 437-368-805 and 750 penalty minutes in 1,060 career games in 15 NHL campaigns with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins from 2002-18 and appeared in six All-Star Games, including five as a Blue Jacket. He spent his first nine seasons with Columbus after being selected with the first overall pick at the 2002 NHL Draft and served as the club’s captain from 2008-12. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals and points as he registered 289-258-547 and 568 penalty minutes in 674 games from 2002-12. On Mar. 5, 2022, he became the first player in franchise history to have his number - 61- retired.
The Brampton, Ontario native was a stalwart for Canada in international competition as he represented his country at three Olympic Games (2006, 2010-gold and 2014-gold), four IIHF World Championships (2005-silver, 2007-gold, 2008-silver, 2011) and one IIHF World Junior Championship (2002-silver). He also served as the general manager for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Czechia and earned a silver medal as the club’s assistant general manager at the 2022 IIHF World Championships in Finland.
