The Columbus Blue Jackets have locked up their franchise player, signing star winger Rick Nash to an eight-year, $62.4 million deal.
The deal averages $7.8 million a year. Nash has one more season left on his current deal so the extension doesn't kick in until the 2010-11 season.
Nash is the anchor of a Columbus team that made their first postseason appearance in franchise history this past season. The sniper scored 40 goals and 79 points in 78 regular season games and had one goal and three points in four playoff games. The 40-goal season was Nash's second of his career and in 2003-04 Nash led the league with 41 goals to share the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals in the regular season with Calgary's Jarome Iginla and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk.
The 25-year old was the first overall selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and began playing in the NHL immediately as an 18-year old. His is regarded as one of the games brightest young stars and has tailored his offensive skills into a well-rounded, two-way game.
Nash is a four-time All-Star and assumed the title of Blue Jackets captain from Adam Foote in March of 2008 after a meeting with then-head coach Ken Hitchcock.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Nash, general manager Scott Howson and Nash's agent Joe Resnick met on June 30th in an attempt to lay out the Jackets' plan for the future and Nash's role in those plans.
"This is the most important contract I've ever been involved with," Howson told the Dispatch.
Nash said at the time that he had no interest in prolonged negotiations.
"I know what [today] could mean for me and the organization," Nash said. "I'd like it to happen quickly but, if it doesn't, I have no problem waiting until both sides are happy.
"I've come up right through the ranks; now I'm the captain. I love this organization; I love everything about it. Nobody wants to rob the other person; we just both want to be satisfied."
Nash's long-term contract fits into the current NHL landscape where seven, 10, and even the 12-year deal Marian Hossa recently signed are status quo.
"If I sign a five-year contract, I come out at the end of it at 30 years old," Nash said. "That's when most guys are in their prime.
"The crazy long-term contracts -- 10 years or so -- that could be kind of nice, too."
Nash is part of a young nucleus in Columbus that includes 2006 and 2007 first-round picks Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek, respectively. When the extension starts next season, he will become the highest-paid player in franchise history.
Columbus also signed free-agent forward Samuel Pahlsson Wednesday to a three-year, $7.95 million deal. Pahlsson finished the 2008-09 season with the Chicago Blackhawks after being acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Anaheim Ducks.
He has 194 goals and 355 points in 441 career games.
