ARACE
The ceremony was preceded by a highlight reel on the Jumbotron — and if you’ve never seen the goal Nash scored against the then-phoenix Coyotes in 2008, do it with John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” playing in the background music. Classic.
Nash, 34, citing “unresolved issues/ symptoms from a concussion,” on Friday announced his retirement. His only brush with media Sunday was a brief interview with Jackets color analyst Jody Shelley. Nash’s walkaway: “Now I can raise my kids in this city and live here for the rest of my life.”
Nash also played for the Rangers and, briefly, for the Boston Bruins. But he is and will always be a Blue Jacket. He was the franchise, all of it, for nine seasons — when the Jackets averaged 32 victories and 75 points. Longtime Jackets fans know where they were on April 8, 2009, when Nash scored a late goal in Chicago to clinch the Jackets’ first playoff appearance.
“Rick did it the whole year,” said Ken Hitchcock, who coached that Jackets team. “He committed to a 200-foot game, played both ends on special teams, a 25-minute player every night. He didn’t say much, but actions dragged everyone else along. He is a perfect example of a guy who played the game the right way.”
Nash was, and will always be, a firstclass human being. Good parents. When he spoke with Shelley about his Columbus memories, he inevitably brought up the reading program he started for area schoolchildren. Typical Nash and 100 percent genuine.
“I had Nasher in New York,” Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “He was just a great pro for me there. Didn’t say boo. He did everything there (on the ice) . ... It’s too bad we’re going to lose a player, the way he plays. I think he still has some years left but, obviously, he thinks it’s time to step away. I have nothing but true respect for him.”
The Nash ceremony was a quick intake of oxygen near the end of a crazy stretch for the Jackets. The game against the Rangers was their fourth in six days. It came after a blowout loss in Tampa, a one-game suspension to goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and a pair of impressive victories, over Nashville and at Washington.
Tortorella thinks a little pot-stirring can break up the monotony in the middle of a long season.
“Absolutely,” Tortorella said. “These last five days I think have been very important for this organization. Sometimes you need to redefine things, as far as how we go about our business, and that everybody needs to be involved in it. I just think it has been really healthy for our team, and for our organization.
“The communication — we brought management, coaches and players together into having discussions. Sometimes in a long year you kinda ... coaches have their blinders on, managers have their blinders on, players are just playing. I think it has been really healthy.”
Tortorella wanted “points in the bank” against the Rangers before the players took a day off Monday. He said it was “an important game” — a rare descriptor for him in the dog days of January. He wanted the Jackets to finish off a boisterous, six-day stretch with another strong performance.
In a tip of the hat to Nash, that is what they did. Sort of. They beat the Rangers 7-5. The game was unhinged at times, but the points are in the bank. The Jackets passed the Pittsburgh Penguins to move into second place in the Metropolitan Division.