Rick Nash was a rich young man yesterday. He is a much richer young man today. The thing about it is, he wanted to make his money here, in Columbus, and be a part of a process here, in Columbus.
Nash wants to win a Stanley Cup, and he thinks he knows the parade route.
Nash signed an eight-year contract extension last night worth
$62.4 million. Throughout the hockey world, there will be those who say the Blue Jackets overpaid for their franchise player. We heard that last time Nash signed a contract extension, in 2004, when the Jackets gave him a five-year deal worth $27 million. That contract was a bet: If Nash was going to be a star, if he was going to be the cornerstone of the franchise, it was a good contract. And it was.
It is possible to win a Cup without Nash. For four days, we have had to entertain the idea. It is not a good idea. Now that he is committed through 2018, well, it is much easier to dream, isn't it?
A treasure in the hand is better than a salvage operation.
The treasure is in hand. The Jackets got it done. The NHL will take notice. Current and future free agents understand: This was huge.
Nash will make $7 million in the final year of his current contract. The new one is worth $7.8 million annually. That is the salary cap hit, $7.8 million. Too much? I don't think so.
Jarome Iginla, an excellent comparable, is No. 17 in annual earnings at $7 million per season. Eric Staal is No. 4 at $8.25 million per season. The Jackets put Nash right behind Staal. They made Nash the fifth-highest per-annum earner (tied with Brad Richards of Dallas). This is forward thinking. It was smart.
Nash is not a center like Staal, and he has not won a Stanley Cup like Staal. But putting him in Staal's company makes sense. Staal is the face of the Carolina Hurricanes. He is a young player with a long-term commitment to the franchise. And the franchise is in a nontraditional hockey market, which adds to Staal's value there.
Nash means as much to his team as Staal, or any other player in any other market. Locking up Nash gives the team, the city and the fans a perennial All-Star and a goal-scoring machine -- and so much more. Nash fits here. Columbus is not a destination for superstars. They have to be grown here, as Nash was, as Steve Mason, Derick Brassard, Jake Voracek and Nikita Filatov are. Getting them to stay is the trick. Nash is staying, and he is emphatic about it.
He made it happen.
Think about this: Nash could have collected his $7 million next season and then plied the free-agent market. Next summer, the Toronto Maple Leafs would have dangled a 10-year, $90 million contract in his face. Nash knew it, but he is staying put. For less money.
He made it happen.
Nash's agent, Joe Resnick, and Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson had a seven-year deal hammered out yesterday afternoon. Howson was skittish about the cap hit -- roughly $8.3 million -- but was prepared to draft the contract. In fact, assistant general manager Chris MacFarland was doing exactly that, drafting the papers.
Then, Nash checked in with Resnick. Nash told his agent that the cap hit ought to be softened, to give the Jackets flexibility down the road. Nash wants to win. He wants players around him. He suggested tacking on an eighth year and adding, say, $4 million to the total. He suggested they might spread the total evenly over the entire term, and thus lessen the cap hit.
"When I told MacFarland that Nash wanted an eighth year to lower the average, there was definitely a pause, like, 'Are you serious?' " Resnick said.
Nash barked at the team's first offer to get the ball rolling. He put the last year on his contract to make it work. This is the Jackets captain. He could have taken his millions anywhere. He wants to pay his taxes here, in Columbus.
Michael Arace is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.
marace@dispatch.com
