Just how close was Rick Nash to returning to the Blue Jackets last summer?
According to him, it wasn't close. It was a done deal.
During a Wednesday morning appearance on 97.1 FM's "Bishop and Laurinaitis" show, Nash said he met with GM Jarmo Kekalainen and then-associate GM Bill Zito during free agency. The two parties agreed to a contract that would bring Nash back to Columbus as a player, but lingering concussion issues pushed Nash into an early retirement that he formally announced in January.
"We had a deal done to come back to the Blue Jackets," Nash said. "I was just having a few symptoms, still, from (the) concussion."
The decision to stop playing wasn't easy, Nash admitted, but one that he needed to make – both for himself and for his young family.
"I know I made the right decision because I get to go to hockey practice with my son tomorrow. I get to drop my daughter off at school," Nash said. "It wasn't like I played two years and played 100 games and just kind of got my feet wet. I played a lot of games, I played a lot of years.
"Do I miss it? Yes. Do I wish I played I played three or four more years? For sure. I think I got out at the right time when I was worried about my health."
