Columbus Blue Jackets

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

Facts

Founded: 2000 (awarded June 25, 1997)

Arena: Nationwide Arena

Logo design: A starry ribbon forming the letters "CB" surrounding a hockey stick (which also forms the letter "J") surmounted by a star.

Mascot: Stinger

Rivals: Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings

Franchise history

One of the NHL's newest teams, the Blue Jackets took to the ice for the first time on October 7, 2000, with a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Bruce Gardiner scored the first goal in franchise history.

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.

Tragedy struck the Blue Jackets organization when, in March 2002, 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 watching the Blue Jackets play the Calgary Flames in Nationwide Arena. As a result of this 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 has never made the playoffs in its short history, but it has a core of young players who could change that in the near future, led by 2002 first-overall draft pick Rick Nash. Nash scored 41 goals in 2003-04 to earn a share of the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy.

Prior to the 2005-2006 season, the Blue Jackets signed former Colorado Avalanche Defenseman Adam Foote to a three year deal worth $13.5 million dollars.

The team struggled again in the first half of the 2005-06 season, in part because of injuries to key players including Nash, 2000 first round pick Rostislav Klesla, and 2005 first round pick Gilbert Brule, who have each had two stints on the injured reserve list. In all, 11 players had made a total of 15 trips to the IR through the NHL's Christmas break. The Blue Jackets improved in December and January, due in no small part to Rick Nash making a return off injured reserve on December 18. At the end of January they stood 14-12-0 at home, 8 wins in their last 11 games, and finishing 1st in the NHL for power play efficiency for that month.

There is much speculation that the Blue Jackets will be abandoning their current primary logo ("CBJ" ribbon) for their alternate (Ohio flag "C") for the upcoming 2006-07 season.

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

As of April 18, 2006

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
2000-01	82	28	39	9	6	71	190	233	1234	5th in Central	Out of Playoffs
2001-02	82	22	47	8	5	57	164	255	1198	5th in Central	Out of Playoffs
2002-03	82	29	42	8	3	69	213	263	1505	5th in Central	Out of Playoffs
2003-04	82	25	45	8	4	62	177	238	1209	4th in Central	Out of Playoffs
2004-05¹	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2005-06	82	35	43	--	4	74	223	279	1416	3rd in Central	Out of Playoffs
Grand Totals	410	139	216	33	22	333	967	1268	6562

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

Notable players

Current squad

As of July 15, 2006 ^*

Goaltenders
Number	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
-	Fredrik Norrena	L	2006	Pietarsaari, Finland
31	Pascal Leclaire	L	2001	Repentigny, Quebec

Defensemen
Number	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
15	Duvie Westcott	R	2001	Winnipeg, Manitoba
47	Aaron Johnson	L	2001	Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
52	Adam Foote - C	R	2005	Toronto, Ontario
97	Rostislav Klesla	L	2000	Novy Jicin, Czechoslovakia

Forwards
Number	Player	Shoots	Position	Acquired	Place of Birth
-	Alexander Svitov	L	C	2004	Omsk, Russia
9	David Vyborny - A	L	C/RW	2000	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia
13	Nikolai Zherdev	R	LW/RW	2003	Kiev, U.S.S.R.
19	Alexandre Picard	L	LW	2004	Les Saules, Quebec
25	Jason Chimera	L	LW	2005	Edmonton, Alberta
27	Manny Malhotra	L	C/W	2003	Mississauga, Ontario
33	Fredrik Modin	L	LW	2006	Sundsvall, Sweden
40	Jaroslav Balastik	L	RW	2002	Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia
42	Mark Hartigan	L	C	2003	Fort St. John, British Columbia
45	Jody Shelley	R	LW	2000	Thompson, Manitoba
49	Dan Fritsche	R	C/RW	2003	Parma, Ohio
61	Rick Nash - A	L	LW/RW	2002	Brampton, Ontario
91	Sergei Fedorov - A	L	C	2005	Pskov, U.S.S.R.

Hall of Famers

none

Team captains

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

Retired numbers

99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)

1st 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)

Franchise scoring leaders

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

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player	POS	GP	G	A	Pts
*David Vyborny	LW	395	90	137	227
Geoff Sanderson	LW	259	88	80	168
*Rick Nash	LW	208	89	61	150
Ray Whitney	LW	151	45	95	140
Espen Knutsen	C	188	27	81	108
Tyler Wright	C	291	57	47	104
Andrew Cassels	C	137	26	68	94
*Nikolai Zherdev	RW	130	40	48	88
Mike Sillinger	C	155	38	48	86
Jaroslav Spacek	D	153	16	56	72