Riley Nash hopes to prove his worth
Center Riley Nash is the new man in the room, but his putting on a Blue Jackets sweater in playing for his third franchise in four seasons is not the culture shock that it would appear to be.
In many ways, one of the most radical changes in his move from the Boston Bruins’ black and gold to Columbus’ red, white and Union blue are the team colors. Both teams have star power, but each knows its road to the Stanley Cup playoffs must be paved with plenty of penalty killing, checking and plain old-fashioned teamwork.
Nash won his first nine faceoffs and 12 of 14 overall, took a penalty and played 16:23 in his first game as a Blue Jacket in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in an exhibition on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.
The franchise was looking for a versatile center who could play on any of the four lines, kill penalties and provide another level head in the lineup when Nash on July 1 signed a three-year contract that will pay him $2.75 million annually.
“There were a bunch of factors for me coming here,” Nash said. “I thought the opportunity here would present itself like it did in Boston. I felt it was the right spot. I think they have a really good core and have been trending in the right direction the last couple of years. They were close to beating the Stanley Cup champions last year (Washington in the playoffs), so they were knocking at the door.”
What attracted Columbus was the fact that Nash, 29, is coming off his finest season as a professional with careerhigh totals of 15 goals, 26 assists and 41 points.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said that Nash doesn’t have to match those numbers to be of value.
Nash was never more valuable for the Bruins after Patrice Bergeron was injured and he moved up to center the likes of David Backes and Brad Marchand. He put up six goals and five assists during a stretch when the team went 9-2-2.
“One attribute I’ve tried to bring over the course of my career is to be flexible,” Nash said. “Guys get injured and you are going to have to play different roles, and that ultimately will dictate how successful a team is going to be.”
As for playing for another team, Nash said his new teammates have made him feel at ease. He was drafted in the first round by Edmonton out of Cornell in 2007, but was traded to Carolina in 2010 before playing in a game. After five seasons with the Hurricanes, he spent two seasons with Boston.
“It can be hard to get comfortable with a team because you are meeting a whole new set of guys and you want to have good relationships all over again,” Nash said. “... I won’t say it’s easy, but the guys have been awesome here since the start. This is a close-knit group.”