Report: Blue Jackets ink Nash to huge deal

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 3 (UPI) -- The Columbus Dispatch reported Friday that forward Rick Nash had signed an eight-year, $62.4 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets.

Nash, 25, earned the huge contract with a 40-goal 2008-09 season. He has spent his entire six-season NHL career with Columbus after being the first overall pick of the 2002 draft and has a franchise-record 194 goals to go with 161 assists in 441 games.

The report said Nash, who is the team captain, would earn $7 million during the 2009-10 season and $7.5 million the following year. By the end of the contract, he will be earning $8.2 million a season.

Columbus reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history this year before being eliminated in four games by Detroit.