The Columbus Blue Jackets have elevated Chris Clark to assistant general manager and Rick Nash to director of player personnel and development. The promotions were announced by general manager Don Waddell, who praised their contributions to the organization. Clark and Nash, both former players, join Laurence Gilman on the senior leadership team.
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced promotions within their hockey operations department on a recent day, as stated by club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell. Chris Clark, 49, advances to assistant general manager after serving as director of player personnel and general manager of the Cleveland Monsters, the team's American Hockey League affiliate, since 2019. Prior to that, from 2012 to 2019, he worked as a development coach and director of player personnel.
Clark, a native of South Windsor, Connecticut, played 11 NHL seasons from 1999 to 2011, accumulating 103 goals, 111 assists, 214 points, and 700 penalty minutes in 607 games with the Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals, and Calgary Flames. With Columbus from 2009 to 2011, he recorded 8 goals, 12 assists, 20 points, and 59 penalty minutes in 89 games. He captained the Capitals from 2006 to 2009, tallying 60 goals, 63 assists, 123 points, and 278 penalty minutes in 240 games. Drafted 77th overall in the third round by Calgary in 1994, Clark earned All-ECAC honors at Clarkson University from 1994 to 1998 and helped the Flames reach the 2004 Stanley Cup Final during his six seasons there from 1998 to 2004. Internationally, he served as general manager for the United States Men's National Team at the 2023 IIHF World Championships in Tampere, Finland.
Rick Nash, 41, from Brampton, Ontario, moves to director of player personnel and development. He joined the Blue Jackets in June 2019 as special assistant to the general manager, was promoted to director of player development in 2021, and has been director of hockey operations since September 2024.
Nash played 15 NHL seasons from 2002 to 2018, recording 437 goals, 368 assists, 805 points, and 750 penalty minutes in 1,060 games with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins. Selected first overall in the 2002 NHL Draft, he spent his first nine seasons in Columbus, where he remains the franchise leader with 289 goals and 547 points in 674 games, serving as captain from 2008 to 2012. He appeared in six All-Star Games, five with the Blue Jackets, and had his number 61 retired on March 5, 2022. Internationally, Nash represented Canada at three Olympics (2006, 2010 gold, 2014 gold), four IIHF World Championships (2005 silver, 2007 gold, 2008 silver, 2011), and the 2002 IIHF World Junior Championship (silver). He was general manager for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Czechia and assistant general manager at the 2022 event in Finland, earning silver.
“Chris Clark and Rick Nash have each done an exceptional job as members of our hockey operations leadership group and are very deserving of these promotions,” Waddell said. “They are former Blue Jackets players who care very deeply about this organization. They are intelligent, extremely hard-working and committed to our succeeding at the highest level and I am excited that they will continue to play important roles here as we move forward.”
Clark, Nash, and Laurence Gilman, appointed vice-president of hockey operations on January 6, report directly to Waddell as part of the senior leadership team.
