He's widely known to the fans as the guy that gives goaltenders an exaggerated, grandiose hug after a win, most notably Sergei Bobrovsky. He's also the guy that called the game-winning goal for himself in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals last year to secure Columbus their first home playoff victory. But, there is so much more to him than a highlight reel goal or hugs.
Since being traded to the Blue Jackets in July, 2012 for defenseman Marc Methot, forward Nick Foligno has become an integral part of the team and a driving force in their success. Last season, he had a career-year in goals (18) and his second best year in assists (21) and points (39).
The 27-year-old Foligno is a humble man that is as quick to give praise to his teammates, as he is to deflect it from himself. He believes that this is a hockey team that can go far and he wants to be a part of it.
With all of the adversity that has faced the Blue Jackets in the young 2014-15 season, he has opened some eyes with the lengths to which he'll go to help the team. It's a mindset that is a part of the very fabric of who he is.
"You just want to help," said Foligno. "Every guy that's in the lineup wants to help. I take it upon myself, being an older guy, to try and help the team in any way possible. I know we're hurting right now, but that's no excuse for the record we have."
This comes from the guy that was stretchered off the Staples Center ice 10 days ago with a neck stinger that looked horrible after he collided with linesman Shane Heyer. The word "quit" is not in his vocabulary. He wanted to get right back out on the ice to help his teammates.
"I think we can play better than the record that we have right now and I think we need to start believing in ourselves. We have to find a way to get everyone motivated to not focus so much on what's going on off the ice. We just have to focus on how we can play better as a team."
Top-line center Ryan Johansen knows the value of having a guy like Foligno on the team. They've played together on the same line and both are a driving force in helping the team to try and turn the corner and get back to their winning ways.
"I think that we're just trying to play our game the best that we can," said Johansen. "Nick (Foligno) is a great player and has made some huge plays. We have to focus on what we can do to help the team. If we're doing our job, then hopefully we're helping the team to be successful.
"We've spent a lot of time together over the last few years as line-mates. We know each other very well out on the ice. He's a big player on our team and we're going to need him all year long. It's nice that he's healthy."
Last Saturday in New Jersey, Foligno moved from the wing where he's been playing for the last two years, to center. It's a position he's played before, but not for quite some time. Columbus head coach Todd Richards doesn't seem at all surprised at the versatility that Foligno brings to the team.
"No, I'm not," said Richards. "He came to me, it was early last week and said 'I can play center if you need me to'. He said it in a very respectful way."
"After we started thinking about it and discussing things, we figured 'why not try it?' In the game in New Jersey, he was excited to be (at center). And he did a good job for us."
In that game against the Devils, Foligno centered a line with Jack Skille on one wing and Brian Gibbons on the other. The chemistry showed from the very first shift as they gelled and became an opportunistic line throughout the night.
"I think the way that we play," said Skille, "we complement each other. I think that we're all just smart, simple players with speed. Foligno has a lot of skill with his hands up the middle. I mean, it was the first time in a long time that he played center. With us helping him on draws and trying to jump in there for him, it creates hard work right off the bat.
"We work well together because I know what Gibbons is going to do. I know that he's going to keep it simple and chip it up the wall. It's predictable that way. I think it's a lot harder when guys are forcing things or trying to do things that aren't within the team structure.
"But with Foligno and Gibbons, you see that they're pretty simple players and they're predictable."
That simplicity has served him well while playing on the youngest team in the NHL. It doesn't overwhelm the guys he's playing with, as he tries to keep to a north-south game and play it with pace.
He acknowledges that they've gotten away from their identity and style of play that has brought them success in the past. Although they have a record of 4-7-0, they've been "in" most of the games to this point. The games against Toronto and Anaheim are the two that jump right out as bad games for the Blue Jackets.
"You saw, for whatever reason," Foligno said, "we got down on ourselves and couldn't find a way to get back in the games. You never really saw that intensity, that hard-working style that we're accustomed to."
"It's not acceptable. You can make all the excuses about guys being out of the lineup, but when you put the skates on you have a job to do. We didn't do that in those games and that's the result we deserve."
Tuesday evening, they will see the season debut of second-year player Boone Jenner, out with a broken hand since September. Matt Calvert might also make his return to the lineup for the game against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Foligno knows the importance of getting guys like this back on the ice.
"I think it will help to get guys back in the lineup," Foligno said. "When you fall on hard times, you rely on your experience and I don't know if we have enough of that. But in saying that, we do have a lot of guys that have experience and could help the other guys along.
"Yes, it's the mental lapses, but it's because we're maybe not confident enough in our abilities or working within the system all the time. Our system is good in the sense that we can play a simple game that allows us to win. We haven't done that enough in using our system to get us out of jams."
"But now, we're focusing more on playing the right way and doing the things that allow us to have success to help eliminate those mental lapses."
Is there anything that Nick Foligno can't do? Might we see him in goalie pads, should the unforeseeable arise?
"I hope we never have to see that," Richards said, chuckling.
