ATLANTA -- It seems like Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash just finished answering questions about his future in Columbus beyond this season.

He's getting them again. Only this time it concerns the entire franchise.

A report issued yesterday by the Columbus Chamber states that the Jackets are losing $12 million a year and will likely need public financial support to remain in central Ohio.

Nash and teammates say they are focused on winning games while franchise officials, politicians and civic leaders search for a possible solution to the Nationwide Arena lease issue and other financial burdens.

Unlike the eight-year contract extension he signed in July, Nash said the Jackets' economic woes are beyond his control.

"We are in-season, and we have an obligation to worry about the team and games," Nash said. "We have to let the people in charge take care of those situations. We will take care of what happens on the ice."

Nash was the only player that Blue Jackets management approached regarding the independent study. There have been no team meetings about it, forward R.J. Umberger said.

"It hasn't been brought up in our locker room," Umberger said. "It's not our area of concern. That can't be part of our everyday worries. All we can do is put on a good show so we can keep fan interest up."

Nash remains optimistic about hockey's future in Columbus. He has watched the Arena District develop in his seven seasons.

"I wasn't here before the arena -- I got here three or four years after it was built -- but from what I heard there was nothing down there," Nash said. "Mr. McConnell (the late John H. McConnell) and Nationwide invested a lot by putting that arena there.

"Personally, I think it has changed the Downtown even from the time I got there. Burnham Square (Condominiums), Buggyworks (Lofts), the baseball stadium, the surrounding bars and restaurants -- none of it was there. I believe it all fed off the arena and the crowds going to the games."

Central Ohio voters historically have rejected funding the arena.

Coach Ken Hitchcock, citing publicly supported stadium projects elsewhere in Ohio, said he thinks that team officials, local business leaders and politicians will get together to keep the franchise in Columbus.

"If it got worked out in Cincinnati and it got worked out it Cleveland, it will get worked out in Columbus," he said of venues that were built with public money. "I've seen this all the time: the discussions you get into regarding the cost of running an arena. I saw it in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. I've seen it everywhere and it always gets worked out."

Slap shots

The Blue Jackets scratched forward Alexandre Picard last night. Defenseman Mike Commodore (charley horse) missed his second consecutive game.

treed@dispatch.com