Rick Nash shoulders captaincy, aiming to elevate the Blue Jackets beyond zero playoff games with newfound all-situations play.
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Captain Columbus - Sep. 16, 2008 – Vol. 62, Issue 03 - Ryan Dixon
RICK NASH IS USED to being judged by his numbers, but he knows having an important letter on his sweater this year signifies an evolution in his responsibilities with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
And if the number of playoff games Nash and the Columbus franchise have participated in is to grow from zero, the hulking left winger will have to play a big part in making that happen.
“It’s kind of my job (to get us over the hump) being captain, you’ve got to be a leader,” said Nash, who took over the Jackets captaincy last March following Adam Foote’s trade to Colorado. “But we’ve got 22 guys on the team and a lot of older guys who’ve been in the playoffs and won Stanley Cups, so it should be good, but that’s our next step in Columbus.”
Getting there will have a lot to do with the continued development of Nash’s game. The first pick in the 2002 draft used to be fixated solely on scoring goals, but he’s becoming an all-situations player who contributes at both ends of the ice. A lot of that change is the influence of Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock, who took over the team during the 2006-07 season.
“I came into the league and I really only had one incentive and that was to score goals,” said Nash, who found the back of the net 38 times in 80 games last year. “Th at was the role I was given. I was playing 12, 13 minutes a game and some use on the power play and that’s it.
“Now, I’m on in all different situations, I’m playing on the penalty-kill, I’m on in the last minute of the game. Since Hitch has come in, that kind of changed it.”
Change has definitely been a theme of the summer for Columbus, with new faces up front and on the blueline. Nash in particular will have a pair of new linemates on the Jackets’ No. 1 unit thanks to the arrival of center R.J. Umberger (trade with Philadelphia) and right winger Kristian Huselius (signed as a free agent from Calgary).
Nash, who is the coverboy for 2K Sports’ new hockey video game, NHL 2K9, likes what he has seen from his team’s two biggest off-season additions.
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“Watching Umberger in the playoffs, he was pretty impressive (10 goals in 17 games for Philadelphia), he put on a pretty good show there,” Nash said. “With Huselius, we saw him quite a bit with Calgary last year and he was playing with (Jarome) Iginla. It looked like they had some chemistry and success together, so it should be fun to see what happens.”
Columbus programs will feature some other new names this fall.
Tough right winger Raffi Torres was brought in from Edmonton in a deal for fading prospect Gilbert Brule, who never found his footing in Ohio. Meanwhile, underperforming right winger Nikolai Zherdev was jettisoned in a trade with the Rangers that brought in defenseman Fedor Tyutin. Free agent signee Mike Commodore also joins a blueline that lost Ron Hainsey via free agency.
The turnover combined with expected growth from within have some fans believing the Jackets’ eighth season will finally bring a post-season berth. Nash’s message for an antsy fan base? We’ll get there… eventually.
“Just be patient, sooner or later we’re going to get there,” he said. “They’ve already been the most patient fans in the league, by far, and they’re loyal to us, so you know, stay loyal, stay patient and we’ll bring it soon.”
Up Next: The Blue Jackets will now take a five-day break for Christmas and will resume their march to the playoffs on December 28th against the New York Islanders.
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