Rick Nash is back.
For a minute, anyway.
The Blue Jackets announced Saturday that their former captain will drop the puck prior to Sunday's home game against the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena.
Nash announced his retirement from professional hockey earlier this week due to concussion symptoms, wrapping up a terrific 15-year playing career.
Nash, 34, spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career with the Blue Jackets after the club selected him with the first overall pick at the 2002 NHL Draft. He is the club’s all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points as he registered 289-258-547 and 568 penalty minutes in 674 games from 2002-12. He then spent five-plus seasons with the Rangers, notching 145-107-252 in 375 outings, before joining the Boston Bruins late in the 2017-18 campaign. In 1,060 career NHL games, the Brampton, Ontario native tallied 437-368-805 and 750 penalty minutes.
It's been widely speculated that had he been healthy to play this season, Nash would've signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jackets and finished his career where it began. We're a ways from discussing when his jersey will be retired by the club, but for now, he'll have an opportunity to thank the fans who he played in front of for nearly a decade.
