50 Fun Facts About Columbus Blue Jackets

In what year did the Blue Jackets begin play as an NHL expansion team?

The Blue Jackets began play in 2000, opening their first season on October 7 at home to Chicago; that expansion took the NHL to 30 teams.

The Blue Jackets' name and logos are inspired by which chapter of Ohio history?

The Civil War inspired the name: Ohio sent hundreds of thousands of men to the Union Army, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan among its native sons, and the Union's blue uniform coats gave the club its name.

Which other franchise joined the NHL in the same 2000 expansion as Columbus?

The Minnesota Wild entered alongside Columbus, the two clubs sharing the expansion draft held in Calgary that June; the Wild brought the NHL back to Minnesota after the North Stars' move to Dallas in 1993.

What was the only other finalist name alongside Blue Jackets in the 1997 'Name the Team' contest?

Justice was the other finalist; from thousands of entries a list of ten was cut to the final two, and Blue Jackets was announced as the name in 1997.

Which fast-food chain helped run the 1997 'Name the Team' contest across central Ohio?

Wendy's is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, just outside Columbus.

The company that privately financed Columbus's arena after a failed 1997 referendum is in what business?

Insurance: Nationwide financed the arena privately after voters rejected a 1997 sales-tax plan, and Nationwide Arena opened for the club's first season across the street from the company's Columbus headquarters.

Which owner privately guaranteed Gary Bettman that an arena would be built, referendum or not?

John H. McConnell, founder of the steel processor Worthington Industries, was the franchise's majority owner; after the 1997 vote failed he assured Bettman an arena would be built, and he led the club until his death in 2008.

Which ECHL club did the Blue Jackets replace in the city, a team that once sold out 83 straight games?

The Chill of the ECHL played at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum from 1991 to 1999.

Who scored the first goal in Blue Jackets franchise history, on October 7, 2000?

Bruce Gardiner scored it in a 5–3 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the first game ever played at Nationwide Arena.

Which goaltender's 22 wins in 2000-01 tied a 74-year-old NHL record for an expansion-team netminder?

Ron Tugnutt won 22 games for the Blue Jackets in their first season, matching Lorne Chabot's 1926–27 mark for a goaltender on a first-year club.

To which team did Columbus trade the third pick in 2002 to move up and take Rick Nash first?

The Florida Panthers took the third pick (Jay Bouwmeester) and an option to swap first-rounders in 2003; Nash, taken first overall, scored 289 goals in nine Columbus seasons.

A 2002 tragedy at a Blue Jackets game led the NHL to mandate what safety change in every arena?

'Netting behind the goals' became mandatory league-wide for 2002–03 after young fan Brittanie Cecil was struck by a deflected puck at Nationwide Arena in March 2002 and died two days later.

Which NHL award did Rick Nash share in 2003-04 with Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk?

The Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy goes to the top goal scorer; Nash, Iginla and Kovalchuk each finished 2003–04 with 41 goals, and at 19 Nash was the youngest player to share it.

Which Swiss club did Rick Nash play for during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, alongside Joe Thornton?

HC Davos, with Nash and Joe Thornton in the lineup, won the 2004 Spengler Cup and the 2004–05 Swiss National League A title.

Which star was acquired from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 2005-06 season?

Sergei Fedorov came from Anaheim in November 2005 for Tyler Wright and François Beauchemin; the three-time Stanley Cup winner played parts of three seasons in Columbus before a 2008 trade to Washington.

Which coach, formerly of the Stars and Flyers, took over Columbus in November 2006?

Ken Hitchcock, who had won the 1999 Stanley Cup with Dallas, replaced Gerard Gallant in November 2006 and went on to coach the Blue Jackets to their first playoff appearance.

In what year did the Blue Jackets clinch their first Stanley Cup playoff berth?

The 2009 berth was sealed with a 4–3 shootout win over Chicago on April 8; Detroit then swept the Blue Jackets in four games in the first round.

Which All-Star center did Columbus get from Philadelphia in 2011 for Jakub Voracek and picks?

Jeff Carter arrived in June 2011 for Jakub Voracek and picks that became Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins; unhappy in Columbus, he was dealt to Los Angeles that February for Jack Johnson and a first-round pick.

Which team acquired Rick Nash from Columbus in July 2012?

The New York Rangers sent Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a 2013 first-round pick to Columbus for Nash on July 23, 2012.

Sergei Bobrovsky was acquired from which team at the 2012 draft for draft picks?

The Philadelphia Flyers, with Ilya Bryzgalov signed as their starter, sent Bobrovsky to Columbus on June 23, 2012 for a second-round pick and two fourth-rounders; he was the club's starter for seven seasons before leaving for Florida in 2019.

Jarmo Kekäläinen was general manager of which Finnish club before Columbus hired him in 2013?

Jokerit of Helsinki employed Kekäläinen as general manager from 2010 until Columbus hired him in February 2013, when he became the NHL's first European-born GM.

Columbus moved from the Central Division to which division for the 2013-14 season?

The Metropolitan Division, created in the 2013 realignment, moved Columbus to the Eastern Conference after more than a decade in the West, grouping it with six former Patrick Division clubs and Carolina.

Why was Nathan Horton credited with a goal in an April 2014 game he never played?

'It was the resumption of a postponed game': the March 10 game in Dallas was halted after Rich Peverley collapsed with Columbus up 1–0 on Horton's goal, and that goal stood when play resumed on April 9.

Whose overtime goal in Game 2 against Pittsburgh in 2014 gave Columbus its first-ever playoff win?

Matt Calvert's goal in double overtime on April 19, 2014 gave Columbus a 4–3 win in Pittsburgh, the first playoff victory in franchise history.

Which defenseman did the Blue Jackets receive from Nashville for Ryan Johansen in January 2016?

Seth Jones came from Nashville for Ryan Johansen on January 6, 2016; he became the Blue Jackets' top defenseman before a 2021 trade to Chicago for Adam Boqvist and the pick that became Cole Sillinger.

Under whom did Columbus rattle off a franchise-record 16-game win streak in 2016-17?

John Tortorella coached the streak, which ran from late November 2016 into early January 2017; along the way he became the first American-born coach to reach 500 NHL wins.

Columbus's 16-game win streak was the second longest in NHL history behind which team's 17?

The '1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins' won 17 straight; Columbus's 16 ran from November 29, 2016 to January 3, 2017 and ended with a 5–0 loss in Washington on January 5.

Which opponent did Columbus beat 10-0 on November 4, 2016, for a franchise-record goal total?

The Montreal Canadiens, then leading the league standings, were routed 10–0 at Nationwide Arena on November 4, 2016; backup Al Montoya was left in to allow all ten goals.

Whom did the Blue Jackets receive from Chicago in June 2017 when they sent Brandon Saad back?

Artemi Panarin came from Chicago with Tyler Motte on June 23, 2017, Saad and Anton Forsberg going the other way; Panarin led Columbus in scoring in each of his two seasons before leaving as a free agent in 2019.

Which Presidents' Trophy winner did Columbus sweep in 2019 for its first playoff series victory?

The Tampa Bay Lightning had tied the NHL record with 62 wins, yet Columbus swept them in four games in April 2019, the first time a Presidents' Trophy winner had been swept in the opening round.

Which two 2019 deadline pickups showed Columbus going 'all-in' before their deals expired?

'Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel' both arrived from Ottawa in February 2019 as rentals while the club kept its own pending free agents; Duchene and Dzingel then left as free agents that summer, Duchene signing with Nashville.

Game 1 of the 2020 first-round series against Tampa Bay was lost in which overtime period?

Fifth overtime: Brayden Point scored 10:27 into it on August 11, 2020, ending one of the longest games in NHL history at 150 minutes 27 seconds; Tampa Bay took the rematch in five games.

Which two forwards came from Winnipeg in the January 2021 Pierre-Luc Dubois trade?

'Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic' came to Columbus on January 23, 2021, with Dubois and a third-round pick going to Winnipeg, two days after Dubois had been benched for the final two periods of a home game.

Which Calgary Flames star stunned the league by signing a seven-year deal with Columbus in 2022?

Johnny Gaudreau, fresh from a 115-point season, signed a seven-year, $68.25 million contract on July 13, 2022, turning down Calgary to be closer to his New Jersey home; Erik Gudbranson came from Calgary the same day.

Which coach hired in July 2023 resigned before preseason after a podcast sparked an NHLPA probe?

Mike Babcock resigned on September 17, 2023 after the Spittin' Chiclets podcast reported he had asked players to show him photos on their phones, prompting an NHLPA investigation; associate coach Pascal Vincent took over.

Which college program did 2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli play for before Columbus drafted him?

Michigan was Fantilli's program: as a freshman in 2022–23 he won the Hobey Baker Award with 65 points in 36 games before Columbus took him third overall.

A replica of which weapon is 'fired' at Nationwide Arena when the Blue Jackets score?

'An 1857 Napoleon cannon' replica, installed for 2007–08, fires after every Columbus goal as the 'For Those About to Rock' refrain plays; a short-lived cannon mascot named Boomer appeared in 2010.

Stinger, the Blue Jackets' mascot, is what kind of creature?

A yellow jacket: Stinger debuted with the franchise in 2000, has hockey sticks for eyebrows, and was originally yellow before his colour was switched to a lime green.

The Blue Jackets' primary logo introduced in 2007 is a stylised version of what?

'The flag of Ohio', a swallowtail burgee, is bent into a 'C' in the 2007 logo, with the star standing for Columbus as state capital; it replaced the original ribbon-and-stick mark.

How many stars ran along the red ribbon of the original Blue Jackets logo?

13 stars ran along the ribbon, one for each of the original colonies, with a gold hockey stick slashing through it to form the 'J' of the original logo.

Nationwide Arena was built near the site of what former institution?

The Ohio Penitentiary, which held inmates from 1834 until 1984 and was demolished in 1998, stood on the land that became the Arena District; Nationwide Arena opened there for the Blue Jackets' first season.

Nationwide Arena was the first NHL arena to include what on site?

'A practice rink' — the attached Ice Haus, opened with the arena and sponsored first by the Dispatch and later OhioHealth — doubles as a public and youth-hockey rink.

Nationwide Arena hosted the NHL Entry Draft in which year?

2007: the draft came to Nationwide Arena on June 22–23, 2007, when Chicago took Patrick Kane first overall and Columbus chose Jakub Voracek seventh.

Nationwide Arena hosted the NHL All-Star Game in which year, after a lockout cancelled its 2013 edition?

The building also hosted the 2007 NHL entry draft.

Which Blue Jackets goaltender was set to be Sergei Bobrovsky's rival before he was supplanted in 2012-13?

Steve Mason, a Calder Trophy winner as a rookie, lost the job to Bobrovsky during 2012–13 and was traded away that April; Bobrovsky finished the season with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

Bobrovsky's 41 wins in 2016-17 set the franchise record and earned him which award for the second time?

The Vezina Trophy went to Bobrovsky for 2016–17 after he led all qualifying goalies with a 2.06 goals-against average and .931 save percentage; he had first won it in his debut Columbus season.

Which Blue Jackets goaltender died in a fireworks accident on July 4, 2021?

Matiss Kivlenieks, a 24-year-old Latvian, was killed by a fireworks mortar at a Fourth of July party; the Blue Jackets hung his No. 80 banner at Nationwide Arena and set up a memorial fund in his name.

Which two-time Cup-winning goalie did Columbus acquire from Los Angeles in 2023 and flip to Vegas within two days?

Jonathan Quick came from Los Angeles on February 28, 2023 in the deal that sent Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov to the Kings, then went to Vegas two days later for Michael Hutchinson and a pick.

How tall is Stinger, the Blue Jackets' yellow jacket mascot?

Originally yellow, he turned green and then blue-tinged; an anthropomorphic cannon named Boomer briefly joined him in 2010-11.

Whom did the Blue Jackets hire as president of hockey operations and GM in May 2024?

Don Waddell, who had run the Carolina Hurricanes for six seasons, was hired on May 28, 2024 to replace Jarmo Kekäläinen, fired that February; John Davidson moved into a senior advisory role.