Columbus Blue Jackets President and General Manager Don Waddell announced today that Rick Nash has been named the director of hockey operations for the club. In addition, Zach Abdou has been hired as senior manager of hockey operations and Basil McRae will serve as director of pro scouting.
“Rick Nash is an extremely bright guy who has become an important part of our hockey operations leadership group,” said Waddell. “He is very passionate about the Columbus Blue Jackets and this community and has been a great resource for me since I arrived here in late-May. Rick made a significant impact on this organization as a player and will continue to do so in his role as director of hockey operations.”
In his new role, Nash will be involved in all aspects of the team’s hockey operations department and will continue to oversee the development and advancement of players throughout the organization. The 40-year-old returned to the Blue Jackets as a special assistant to the general manager in June 2019 before being promoted to the club’s director of player development in June 2021.
Internationally, Nash also served as the general manager for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Czechia. He earned a silver medal as the club’s assistant general manager at the 2022 IIHF World Championships in Finland.
The Brampton, Ontario native was selected by Columbus with the first overall pick at the 2002 NHL Draft and registered 437 goals and 368 assists for 805 points with 750 penalty minutes, 232 power play goals and 73 game-winners in 1,060 career games with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins from 2002-18. He is the Columbus franchise leader in goals, assists and points as he registered 289-258-547 and 568 penalty minutes in 674 games from 2002-12. The club’s captain from 2008-12, he represented the Blue Jackets at five All-Star Games and won a Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award during his nine seasons with the club.
McRae originally joined the Blue Jackets as a scout for the 2013-14 season, spent three seasons as the club’s director of player personnel from 2016-19 and served as an assistant general manager during the past five seasons. Abdou joins the Blue Jackets after serving in various hockey operations roles with the Carolina Hurricanes since 2021, first as the club’s hockey operations coordinator and then as manager of hockey and business operations. He will assist the department with forecasting and budgeting, database management and contract analysis. The Raleigh, North Carolina native graduated from the University of North Carolina’s Kenen-Flagler Business School in 2019.
