A painting of Rick Nash hangs in the office of Blue Jackets interim coach Claude Noel, an abstract piece of art in which one would struggle to identify the player within the frame.

The picture perfectly captures Nash's career. Seven seasons in Columbus and Jackets fans still are not exactly sure what to make of the team's best player. He is an enigma wrapped in a CBJ sweater.

Is Nash a top-15 player in the league? Sometimes. Is the Blue Jackets' captain an effective leader? Maybe. This much is clear: Nash is a nice guy and ever-improving playmaker who might simply need a healthy dose of big-time success to finally bring his work into focus.

Winning Olympic gold as a member of Team Canada may well be that dose. Just as Mario Lemieux took a huge step forward in his NHL career by scoring the winning goal in the 1987 Canada Cup, Nash has a chance with his Olympic success to take his career from good to better. And to take the CBJ along with him.

Blue Jackets Fredrick Modin and Sammy Pahlsson both said they benefited from being a part of Sweden winning gold at the 2006 Olympics.

"It helped me in terms of experience, to go through a thing like that," Modin said. "I'm not going to say I became a better leader after winning the gold medal, but it made me feel really good. Rick is going to experience a lot of emotions and be feeling very confident about what he has accomplished, and that stuff rubs off on teammates right away. So that's a positive for us."

Paulsson put it succinctly: "When you feel good about yourself it makes you a better player," he said.

It's not like Nash never has tasted success. He was named MVP of the World Championships in 2007, when Canada won gold, but the Olympics dwarf all events other than the Stanley Cup. It could be argued that not even a Stanley Cup Finals matches the kind of pressure Canadian players felt during the Olympics, when an entire nation's psyche was on the line.

And Nash did not simply show up to these Olympics. Unlike the 2006 Games in Italy, when he pitched in one point over six games, Nash was a major contributor in Vancouver. Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said Nash and Jonathan Toews were Canada's best players in Sunday's 3-2 overtime win against the Americans that decided the gold. Nash collected a game-high five shots and finished the Olympics with two goals and three assists. He also showed his range, beginning the games on the top line and finishing them on a checking unit assigned to mark the Americans' top line.

Nash does not receive enough credit for his versatility, in part because the Blue Jackets largely go unnoticed in the NHL. He has become an excellent passer and goes into the hard places more and better than ever. Combine those attributes with an undersold straight-line speed, and Nash should be more of a newsmaker.

But making news does not agree with the 25-year-old's somewhat passive personality. It is Nash's quiet approach that creates confusion among the more demanding fans in Nationwide Arena. They see his talent turned loose on the international stage and wonder why it does not always translate into positive individual and team results for the CBJ.

Winning gold will not turn Nash into a rah-rah captain, but it could change the way he carries himself in the locker room and on the ice. That in turn would motivate his teammates.

"Rick learned so many lessons through it ... how to lead, just from the process of being there, let alone having six other (NHL) captains in the room, so he gets to watch everybody," Noel said.

The effect on Nash will be great, he predicted.

"He is going to be one of the best leaders in the National Hockey League - ever," Noel said.

He sounded serious. Maybe Noel sees a deeper meaning in that abstract painting of Nash, something a gold medal will bring to the surface.

Rob Oller is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.

roller@dispatch.com