COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Rick Nash is a superstar.

There, we said it.

The problem is, he doesn't get called that all too often anymore.

Rick Nash signed an eight-year, $62.4 million extension with the Blue Jackets in 2009. Dave Sandford/Getty Images

Nash remains a tremendously special player, regardless of whether his name doesn't get thrown around like other elite players in the league. And from a national point of view, the Columbus Blue Jackets' star winger and captain has seemingly slipped away from the hockey world's consciousness.

He is not a player on the tip of everyone's tongue, like a Jonathan Toews or a Steven Stamkos or Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

At 27, Nash is entering his prime. The 2002 first overall pick has put up really good numbers in his eight NHL seasons, averaging 36 goals and 70 points in the past four seasons without having a bona fide No. 1 center to feed him the puck. He's largely done it himself.

And yet, it's as if Nash has perhaps been the victim of his club's mostly mediocre existence (one playoff berth in a decade), at least when it comes to recognition within the hockey world.

"I think it's true," Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson recently told ESPN.com. "We're a bit of an anonymous team at times because we haven't had success and we're not a traditional hockey market. The fact we haven't had success means we've got to earn it. Rick's probably been harmed a little bit that way, publicly, in notoriety. Although he's not harmed in Canada because of the world championships and Olympics, where's he's been an absolutely stud. But yes, in the everyday life of the NHL, he's probably gotten less notoriety than he should."

If it bothers him, Nash won't ever let on. He had the opportunity to test the free-agent market in the summer of 2010, which meant a possible exit from Columbus. His hometown Toronto Maple Leafs had even been bandied about as a possible landing spot. But Nash ended all the anxiety far in advance by signing an eight-year, $62.4 million extension in 2009.

So, why did he do it?

"I believe in our ownership here," Nash told ESPN.com during a camp stop last month. "I believe in Scott's plan of what he wants to do. And I love this city. I think the city deserves a strong professional team. They obviously have that at the college level. Our fans are great, they're loyal. It's a great place to live. I just think, at the end of the day, it would have been easy to be an unrestricted free agent and go wherever I wanted to and take the most money.

"But I really believe in this organization. I have a great relationship with ownership and management and I really want to bring a championship here."

Of course, he signed the extension after the club made its one and only playoff appearance, a four-game foray against Detroit in 2009. If he thought that was going to be the norm moving forward, he was wrong; the Jackets missed the playoffs in the subsequent two seasons.

But Nash insists he has absolutely no regrets in signing the extension. It's just going to make it that much sweeter when he finally wins a championship with his one and only NHL club. And as for the lack of notoriety because of his work address, he couldn't care less.

"I don't mind it, and that was one of the main reasons I didn't sign in Toronto, either," Nash said. "I kind of like being under the radar here. I'm sure if we have a winning season and have a little run in the playoffs that it would change and that's fine. But it doesn't matter to me."

The way Nash sees it, players like Toews and Sidney Crosby, for example, deserve more recognition anyway.

"Those guys have accomplished pretty amazing things and I hope I get there one day," said Nash. "For them to take their team to a Stanley Cup, I haven't done that, so I don't deserve to be in those talks quite yet. But that's my plan, to do that here. As for all the limelight, I could have had that if I signed in Toronto, but I'm happy like this."

International hockey has given Nash the opportunity to remind the hockey world what a dynamic player he is. During two Olympic tournaments, four IIHF world championships and a world junior tourney, Nash has largely shone brightly for Team Canada. His standout performance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics reminded us once again that the 6-foot-4, 219-pound power winger can really bring it no matter how big the stage is. He just hasn't been given the same stage in his NHL career.

Never again in his career will he face more pressure than he had along with his teammates trying to win Olympic gold in Vancouver for the country that is defined by the sport of hockey. You can stack up all the Stanley Cup finals you want; it's doubtful it would ever compare to what Team Canada's 23 NHL stars felt in Vancouver.