It’s official, Rick Nash will be the first player to have his jersey retired in Columbus Blue Jackets history. The team announced Thursday that they would be holding a ceremony on March 5th, 2022 to honour their former captain and raise his number 61 to the rafters of Nationwide Arena.
Nash owns virtually every meaningful record in Columbus Blue Jackets history after spending 9 seasons with the club in the early 2000’s. Selected first overall by the team in the 2002 entry draft, Nash would reward the organization’s faith in him by scoring 41 goals in his sophomore season. The total would earn him a share of the Rocket Richard trophy along with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jarome Iginla.
The uber skilled power forward would eclipse the 40 goal plateau 3 times in his career, and tally at least 30 goals on 5 occasions as well. As Columbus struggled to field a competitive on ice product in the early years of their existence, Nash would ultimately be traded to the New York Rangers in 2012 for a slew of picks and prospects. Towards the end of his career, Nash would be traded from New York to Boston before a concussion cut his career short.
Only 34 years old, Nash was forced to retire from professional hockey in 2019. The Brampton, ON native would tally 750pts (437G, 368A) in 1060GP for his career. Columbus hosts the Boston Bruins on March 5th infront of what is sure to be a capacity crowd in Ohio.