Columbus Blue Jackets

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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	Navy, Red, White, Black, and Silver
Owner	John H. McConnell
General Manager	Doug MacLean
Head Coach	Gary Agnew (Interim)
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. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Origin of team name 2 Season-by-season record 3 Notable players 3.1 Current roster 3.2 Team captains 3.3 Hall of Famers 3.4 Retired numbers 3.5 First-round draft picks 3.6 Franchise scoring leaders 4 NHL awards and trophies 5 Franchise individual records 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] Franchise history

On June 23, 2000, the NHL's two newest teams, the Columbus Blue 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 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, amongst 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 netminder, 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 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 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.

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.

[edit] Origin of team name

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".

• 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 (in fact, more than any other state). 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 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.

[edit] Season-by-season record

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 November 15, 2006. ^[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	16	5	10	—	1	11	37	51	287
Totals	413	141	218	33	23	338	979	1276	6602	—	—

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

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

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Current roster

As of October 26, 2006. [1]

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
30		Fredrik Norrena	L	2006	Jakobstad, Finland
31		Pascal Leclaire	L	2001	Repentigny, Quebec

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2		Anders Eriksson	L	2006	Bollnas, Sweden
4		Bryan Berard (IR)	L	2005	Woonsocket, Rhode Island
6		Ron Hainsey	L	2005	Bolton, Connecticut
10		Duvie Westcott	R	2001	Winnipeg, Manitoba
44		Aaron Johnson	L	2001	Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
52		Adam Foote - C	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		Alexander Svitov	C	L	2004	Omsk, U.S.S.R.
25		Jason Chimera	LW	L	2005	Edmonton, Alberta
27		Manny Malhotra	C	L	2003	Mississauga, Ontario
33		Fredrik Modin	LW	L	2006	Sundsvall, Sweden
40		Jaroslav Balastik	RW	L	2002	Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia
42		Mark Hartigan	C	L	2003	Fort St. John, British Columbia
45		Jody Shelley	LW	L	2000	Thompson, Manitoba
47		Geoff Platt	C	L	2005	Toronto, Canada
49		Dan Fritsche	LW	R	2003	Parma, Ohio
61		Rick Nash - A	LW	L	2002	Brampton, Ontario
77		Anson Carter	RW	R	2006	Scarborough, Ontario
91		Sergei Fedorov - A	C	L	2005	Pskov, U.S.S.R.

[edit] Team captains

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

[edit] Hall of Famers

• None

[edit] Retired numbers

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

[edit] First-round draft picks

• 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)

[edit] Franchise scoring leaders

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*	LW	409	94	147	241	.59
Geoff Sanderson	LW	259	88	80	168	.65
Rick Nash*	LW	222	93	68	161	.72
Ray Whitney	LW	151	45	95	140	.93
Espen Knutsen	C	188	27	81	108	.57
Tyler Wright	C	291	57	47	104	.36
Nikolai Zherdev*	RW	141	44	51	95	.68
Andrew Cassels	C	137	26	68	94	.69
Mike Sillinger	C	155	38	48	86	.55
Jaroslav Spacek	D	153	16	56	72	.47

[edit] NHL awards and trophies

Rocket Richard Trophy

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

[edit] Franchise individual records

• 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 G.A.A in a season: Ron Tugnutt, 2.44 (2000-01)
• Best SVP% in a season: Marc Denis, .918 (2003-04)

[edit] References

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

[edit] See also

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

[edit] External links

• Official website of the Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coaches
King • MacLean • Gallant