Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio, United States. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Founded in 2000 as an expansion team, the Blue Jackets are currently the only active team in the NHL to have never qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Franchise History

On June 23, 2000, the NHL's two newest teams, the Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, took part in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft in Calgary, Alberta. Under the draft's rules, twenty-six of the NHL's active twenty-eight teams were allowed to protect one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two netminders, 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 that 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. Columbus finished with a 28-39-9-6 record for 71 points, failing to qualify for the playoffs. 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 initials "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 the 1995-96 season.

The 2003-04 season 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 April 3, 2007, the Blue Jackets broke the modern day record for most shutouts against in a season (16) with a 0-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

On April 18th, 2007, Doug MacLean, the team's first General Manager and President, was fired. Mike Priest, president of JMAC, Inc, was named President of the club while Assistant General Manager Jim Clark was named interim General Manager. On June 15, 2007, the Blue Jackets named Edmonton Oilers assistant general manager Scott Howson as the team's new general manager.

On August 21, 2007, the team signed Michael Peca to a one-year deal. On October 4, the Blue Jackets announced their affiliation with the Elmira Jackals, which replaced their former affiliation with the Dayton Bombers as the club's ECHL affiliate.


**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG