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Columbus Blue Jackets
Conference	Western
Division	Central
Founded	2000
History	Columbus Blue Jackets 2000 - present
Arena	Nationwide Arena
City	Columbus, Ohio
Local Media Affiliates	FSN Ohio WWCD (101.1 FM) WBNS (1460 AM)
Team Colors	Blue, Red, Silver, White, and Electric Green
Owner	John H. McConnell
General Manager	Doug MacLean
Head Coach	Ken Hitchcock
Captain	Adam Foote
Minor League Affiliates	Syracuse Crunch (AHL) Dayton Bombers (ECHL) Youngstown SteelHounds (CHL)
Stanley Cups	none
Conference Championships	none
Division Championships	none

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They play in the National Hockey League.

Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Origin of team name 2 New Uniforms in 2007-2008 Season 3 Season-by-season record 4 Notable players 4.1 Current roster 4.2 Team captains 4.3 Hall of Famers 4.4 Retired numbers 4.5 First-round draft picks 4.6 Franchise scoring leaders 5 NHL awards and trophies 6 Franchise individual records 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

On June 23, 2000, the NHL's two newest teams, the Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, took part in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft from Calgary, Alberta. Under the draft's rules, twenty-six of the NHL's active twenty-eight teams allowed to protect one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or, two net minders, three blueliners and seven forwards. The Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators both had their full rosters protected as they had only been in existence for one and two years, respectively. Both the Jackets and Wild were to use their first 24 selections on three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and thirteen forwards. Their final two picks could be of any position.

With the first overall choice, the Blue Jackets selected goaltender Rick Tabaracci from the Colorado Avalanche. Over the course of the draft, Columbus picked up goalie Dwayne Roloson, defensemen Lyle Odelein and Mathieu Schneider, and forwards Geoff Sanderson, Turner Stevenson, and Dallas Drake, among others. Instead of joining Columbus, Roloson signed with the American Hockey League's Worcester IceCats, Schneider left for the Los Angeles Kings, and the St. Louis Blues signed Drake. Columbus also traded Stevenson to the New Jersey Devils to complete an earlier transaction.

Since there was a limit on how many players teams could protect, the Jackets and Wild were granted concessions by other franchises. The San Jose Sharks traded Jan Caloun, a ninth-round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, and a 2001 conditional pick to Columbus after the Jackets agreed not to select the Sharks' unprotected goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

The following day, June 24, at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Columbus selected Rostislav Klesla fourth overall.

October 7, 2000 was the day the Columbus Blue Jackets played their first regular season game, a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Bruce Gardiner scored the franchise's first goal. While the Jackets did not qualify for the playoffs, the season wasn't considered a failure. Columbus finished with a 28-39-9-6 record for 71 points. Geoff Sanderson became the first player in team history to reach the 30-goal plateau and Ron Tugnutt, who was signed in the summer of 2000, supplied solid goaltending.

The Blue Jackets finished next to last in the NHL the following season, 2001-02, with only 57 points. Ray Whitney, acquired from the Florida Panthers the previous season, led the team in scoring. Tragedy struck the Blue Jackets organization in March 2002 when 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil was killed after an errant shot by Espen Knutsen struck her in the head while she was in the stands at Nationwide Arena. As a result of her death, nylon mesh nets have now been installed in all NHL arenas above the area behind the goals to shield spectators from flying pucks. The team also wore small red hearts with the intials "BNC" on their helmets.

Following the season, the Jackets traded Tugnutt to the Dallas Stars. Columbus received a second rounder in the upcoming draft for the net minder, who had split playing time with Marc Denis in 2001-02. On the morning of the draft, the team traded the 2002 third overall pick and the option to flip draft spots in 2003 to the Florida Panthers for the 2002 first overall, which Columbus used to select Rick Nash.

The 2002-03 NHL season started relatively well, with Columbus putting up a 7-5-1-1 record after the first fourteen games. But as expectations from their fans grew higher, the team came back to mediocrity, finishing in the Central Division's basement for the third consecutive season and missing the playoffs once again. Dave King, the team's head coach since their debut in 2000, was fired midseason and replaced by general manager Doug MacLean. Marc Denis was given the starting job and played a franchise record seventy-seven games that season, two shy of the NHL record for goalies held by St. Louis' Grant Fuhr in 1995-96.

2003-04 was another disappointing season for the Blue Jackets despite key additions in the offseason. Checking center Todd Marchant was signed to a five-year contract in July from the Edmonton Oilers and offensive defenseman Darryl Sydor was acquired from Dallas for Mike Sillinger and a draft pick. MacLean stepped aside as head coach 33 games into the season, giving way to Gerard Gallant. The Jackets finished with just 62 points, the second-lowest total in their short history. Nash was one of the few bright spots for the team; his 41 goals tied Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk for the Rocket Richard Trophy.

2004-05 was wiped out due to the NHL's lockout of its players.

In the summer of 2005, rugged Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote agreed to a multi-year deal with the team. Heading into the 2005-06 NHL season, it appeared the Jackets would finally take the next step and make the playoffs. But injuries to Nash, Klesla, and the team's 2005 first-round pick Gilbert Brule led to the team putting up a dismal 9-25-1 record through their first 35 games. Superstar Sergei Fedorov was acquired from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and though the team's play eventually did get better, they failed to make the postseason. Todd Marchant was claimed off waivers by the Ducks to complete the Fedorov trade; as well, Anaheim received Tyler Wright and François Beauchemin. The team did, however, manage to become a surprising breakout team for the year. They had the best record for the month of January, and ended up finishing the season with a franchise record of wins and points for the season. They also ended in 3rd place in the Central Division, behind Detroit and Nashville.

In the 2006 offseason, Marc Denis was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Fredrik Modin and goalie prospect Fredrik Norrena, making way for Pascal Leclaire to finally grab the starting job. The Blue Jackets also added depth to their young team by signing Anson Carter when it looked as if Nikolai Zherdev would be playing the season in Russia. However, General Manager Doug MacLean and Zherdev were able to comprise and agree upon a 3-year, $7.5-million dollar contract. On Monday, November 13, 2006, Gerard Gallant was relieved of his duties as head coach. The next day, Gary Agnew was named his interim replacement. On Wednesday, November 22, Ken Hitchcock, former coach with the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers, was named the new head coach, effective the following day.

Then, in the 06-07 season, on December 10, 2006, the Blue Jackets scored a team record five power-play goals against the Ottawa Senators in a 6-2 win. On March 16, 2006, the Blue Jackets broke the modern day record for most shutouts against in a season with a 0-3 loss to the San José Sharks.

The team's nickname was selected from suggestions by fans. There are at least four possible factors that may have contributed to the selection of the name:

• At the time the name was first announced, some media reports speculated that because team owner John H. McConnell's favorite color is blue, he had directed that any name selected for the team must contain the word blue.

• The initial logo for the team featured "an insect with an attitude," suggesting that the name is a play on the term yellowjacket. It may also be a reference to Ohio's hockey teams of the past, including the Toledo Hornets and the Cincinnati Stingers. The insect logo was reduced to secondary status before the team began play and was eliminated entirely during the 2003-04 season. The only remnant of the insect theme remains with the team mascot, a big green bug affectionately known as "Stinger". Stinger wears a civil war-style blue cap. (Ironically, the style of cap worn most closely resembles that of a Confederate soldier, only in blue.)

• The term "Blue Jacket" is a reference to the uniform of the Union army in the American Civil War, to which the state of Ohio provided a large number of soldiers. A third team logo featuring a Union soldier hat and custom Union soldier paintings on goalie Pascal Leclaire's helmet supports this as the team's official explanation of the name. The Blue Jackets also use a jumbo-tron graphic that shows Union Soldiers morphing into Blue Jackets hockey players.

• The name may also have been intended to honor the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket, who lived in the region, but the team has not used any Native American references in its marketing, as have the Jackets' Central Division rivals Chicago Blackhawks.

The Columbus Dispatch has reported that Columbus will replace their current primary "CBJ" logo with what is now their alternate logo. The change will take place at the beginning of the 2007-2008 Season, and apply to both the home and away jerseys. A new third jersey design for next season, which could be red, is under discussion.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Records as of April 5, 2007. ^[1]

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
2000-01	82	28	39	9	6	71	190	233	1234	5th, Central	Did not qualify
2001-02	82	22	47	8	5	57	164	255	1198	5th, Central	Did not qualify
2002-03	82	29	42	8	3	69	213	263	1505	5th, Central	Did not qualify
2003-04	82	25	45	8	4	62	177	238	1198	4th, Central	Did not qualify
2004-051	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005-062	82	35	43	—	4	74	223	279	1416	3rd, Central	Did not qualify
2006-07 (SA)	82	33	42	—	7	73	201	249	1337	4th, Central	Did not qualify
Totals	492	172	258	33	29	406	1165	1515	7888	—	—

¹ Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

² As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games tied after overtime are decided in a shootout; SOL (Shootout losses) are recorded as OTL in the standings.

As of March 27, 2007. [1]

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
30		Fredrik Norrena	L	2006	Jakobstad, Finland
31		Pascal Leclaire (IR)	L	2001	Repentigny, Quebec
35		Brian Boucher	L	2007	Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2		Anders Eriksson	L	2006	Bollnas, Sweden
4		Bryan Berard	L	2005	Woonsocket, Rhode Island
6		Ron Hainsey	L	2005	Bolton, Connecticut
10		Duvie Westcott (IR)	R	2001	Winnipeg, Manitoba
23		Derrick Walser	L	2006	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
37		Darcy Campbell	L	2007	Airdrie, Alberta
44		Aaron Johnson	L	2001	Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
48		Marc Methot	L	2003	Ottawa, Ontario
52		Adam Foote - C (Injured)	R	2005	Toronto, Ontario
55		Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	L	2002	Oslo, Norway
97		Rostislav Klesla	L	2000	Novy Jicin, Czechoslovakia

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
9		David Vyborny - A	RW	L	2000	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia
13		Nikolai Zherdev	RW	R	2003	Kiev, U.S.S.R.
16		Alexandr Svitov	C	L	2004	Omsk, U.S.S.R.
17		Gilbert Brule	C	R	2005	Vancouver, British Columbia
19		Alexandre Picard	LW	L	2004	Les Saules, Quebec
25		Jason Chimera	LW	L	2005	Edmonton, Alberta
27		Manny Malhotra	C	L	2003	Mississauga, Ontario
33		Fredrik Modin	LW	L	2006	Sundsvall, Sweden
45		Jody Shelley	LW	L	2000	Thompson, Manitoba
47		Geoff Platt	C	L	2005	Toronto, Ontario
49		Dan Fritsche (IR)	LW	R	2003	Parma, Ohio
61		Rick Nash - A	LW	L	2002	Brampton, Ontario
91		Sergei Fedorov - A	C	L	2005	Pskov, U.S.S.R.

To see the player pages and bios, click here.

• Lyle Odelein, 2000-02
• Ray Whitney, 2002-03
• Luke Richardson, 2003-05
• Adam Foote, 2005- present

• None

• 99 Wayne Gretzky, number retired league-wide February 6, 2000

• 2000: Rostislav Klesla (4th overall)
• 2001: Pascal Leclaire (8th overall)
• 2002: Rick Nash (1st overall)
• 2003: Nikolai Zherdev (4th overall)
• 2004: Alexandre Picard (8th overall)
• 2005: Gilbert Brule (6th overall)
• 2006: Derick Brassard (6th overall)

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Blue Jackets player

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
David Vyborny*	C	471	106	185	291	.59
Rick Nash*	LW	277	113	90	203	.65
Geoff Sanderson	LW	259	88	80	168	.72
Ray Whitney	LW	151	45	95	140	.93
Nikolai Zherdev*	C	195	50	69	119	.57
Espen Knutsen	C	188	27	81	108	.36
Tyler Wright	C	291	57	47	104	.68
Andrew Cassels	C	137	26	68	94	.69
Mike Sillinger	C	155	38	48	86	.55
Rostislav Klesla*	D	322	29	56	85	.47

Rocket Richard Trophy

• Rick Nash: 2003-04 (shared with Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers and Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames)

• Most Goals in a season: Rick Nash, 41 (2003-04)
• Most Assists in a season: Ray Whitney, 52 (2002-03)
• Most Points in a season: Ray Whitney, 76 (2002-03)
• Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Jody Shelley, 249 (2002-03)
• Most Points in a season, defenseman: Jaroslav Spacek, 45 (2002-03)
• Most Points in a season, rookie: Rick Nash, 39 (2002-03)
• Most Wins in a season: Marc Denis, 27 (2002-03)
• Most Shutouts in a season: Marc Denis, 5 (2002-03 & 2003-04)
• Lowest GAA in a season: Ron Tugnutt, 2.44 (2000-01)
• Best SVP% in a season: Marc Denis, .918 (2003-04)

1. ^ Hockeydb.com, Columbus Blue Jackets season statistics and records.

• List of Columbus Blue Jackets players
• Head Coaches of the Columbus Blue Jackets
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons

• Official website of the Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coaches
King • MacLean • Gallant • Agnew • Hitchcock

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