Kamloops native Riley Nash signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with Winnipeg on Saturday, his fifth team in the NHL (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

RILEY NASH

Kamloops’ Nash feels Jets have a good chance to go deep in playoffs

Aug 4, 2021 | 2:58 PM

KAMLOOPS — During his decade in the NHL, Riley Nash has never played in front of Canadian fans — at least as part of the home team.

He suited up in two playoff games with Toronto this spring after being acquired by the Leafs at the deadline, but there were no fans. As the newest member of the Winnipeg Jets — signing a one-year, $750,000 deal over the weekend — he’ll get that authentic experience of playing in a Canadian market this fall — and the pressure that comes with it.

“I think I’ll get the full taste this year being in a Canadian city and just how hockey is probably [Jets fans’] focal point when it comes to the winter season,” Nash told CFJC Today over Zoom from Shuswap Lake. “It’s their driving force there, so it’s exciting and it’ll be fun.”

Nash is just as excited about the team he’s joining, a team that swept the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs before being swept at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.

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“They were close last year. Obviously, Montreal was a buzzsaw there and they took us out in Toronto and then Winnipeg, so I know there’s a lot of unfinished business,” he said.

That’s at least what he’s hearing from Pierre-Luc Dubois, a former Blue Jacket who was the key piece going to Winnipeg in the Patrik Laine trade earlier this year. They will be reunited.

He also joins a team that’s been active in boosting its stock in recent weeks, trading for defensemen Nate Schmidt from the Canucks and Brenden Dillon from Washington.

“I think they have a really deep team,” said Nash. “You look up front, they have four or five centres that can play up and down their line-up. Not sure they want to play some of those high-end guys so far down the line-up, so there’s going to be a lot of juggling and line combinations and just seeing what works.”

He added, “I’m just trying to be a good, reliable player that can kill penalties and one the coach [Paul Maurice] can throw over the boards at any moment in a game and know what he’s going to expect.”

Nash believes the Jets are one of those teams that could make a run for the Stanley Cup. He hopes to be a small piece of the puzzle to help bring a championship to Winnipeg.

“I still feel like I can contribute and make a difference on a club, so this is the club this year that hopefully I can add some value to and hopefully we can make a deep run, and ultimately the goal is to win a Stanley Cup,” he said. “You look at that team there and they’ve added some key pieces on the backend that are pretty good and up front they’re, I would say, one of the top teams in the league. A lot has to go right to win it, but I think the pieces are there at the start to have a chance, so that’s exciting.”