49 Fun Facts About Columbus Blue Jackets

Before the Blue Jackets arrived in 2000, Ohio's last NHL team was the Barons of which city?

Cleveland: the Barons lasted only two NHL seasons, from 1976 to 1978, before the club was merged out of existence, and Ohio went the next 22 years without an NHL team.

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

The Civil War: more than 300,000 Ohioans served in the Union Army, the third most of any state, and the club says many of the soldiers' blue coats were made in Columbus.

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 runner-up after about 14,000 contest entries were cut to ten names and then two, and the club's own history has its founder saying 'we just didn't understand' it.

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

Wendy's, founded in Columbus in 1969, took fans' suggestions at its restaurants that August; about 14,000 came in, and the club sent a shortlist of ten names to the NHL.

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

Insurance: Columbus-based Nationwide said weeks after voters rejected an arena tax in May 1997 that it would build the arena with its own money, and the NHL awarded the city a team that June.

Which owner privately told Gary Bettman he would do 'whatever it takes' to bring the NHL to Columbus?

John H. McConnell, founder of Worthington Industries, grabbed his arm after civic leaders said a failed arena vote would end the bid, Bettman later recalled; the vote did fail, and Columbus still got its team.

Which ECHL club, a 1990s box-office hit, did the Blue Jackets replace in Columbus?

The Chill played at the state fairgrounds Coliseum from 1991 to 1999, and the crowds it drew are credited with helping pave the way for the city's NHL bid.

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

Bruce Gardiner scored 7:34 into the opener, and Columbus led Chicago 3–0 before the first period was half over, then gave up five straight goals and lost 5–3.

Which goaltender's 22 wins in 2000-01 tied the NHL record for an expansion-team netminder?

Ron Tugnutt earned win No. 22 on the season's final day, a 4–3 overtime defeat of Chicago, matching the 22 that Lorne Chabot (1926–27) and Cesare Maniago (1967–68) won for first-year clubs.

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

The Florida Panthers moved down to third and took defenseman Jay Bouwmeester; Nash repaid Columbus by scoring in his first NHL game that October, the first of his 289 goals for the club.

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 NHL's top goal scorer, and Nash, Iginla and Kovalchuk all finished 2003–04 on 41; at 19, Nash became the youngest player ever to lead the league in goals.

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

HC Davos won the 2005 Swiss title with Nash and Joe Thornton in the lineup, and both men went back to the same club when the NHL locked its players out again in 2012.

Which star did Columbus acquire from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 2005-06 season?

Sergei Fedorov arrived in November 2005 for Tyler Wright and François Beauchemin, and Anaheim did well from it: Beauchemin became a mainstay of the defense that won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

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.

Which team swept Columbus in its first playoff series, in 2009?

The Detroit Red Wings, the defending champions, won all four games; Columbus had clinched its first berth days earlier in Chicago, where Rick Nash tied the game late and Fedor Tyutin won the shootout.

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

Jeff Carter lasted only 39 games in Columbus before a February 2012 trade to Los Angeles for Jack Johnson and a first-round pick; less than four months later he scored the goal that won the Kings the Stanley Cup.

Which team acquired Rick Nash from Columbus in July 2012?

The New York Rangers gave up Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first-round pick for the Blue Jackets' captain, and Columbus left the 'C' vacant for almost three years afterward.

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 for a second-round pick and two fourth-rounders; he was the Blue Jackets' No. 1 goalie 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 lost him in February 2013 to Blue Jackets president John Davidson, who had worked with him in St. Louis, and he became the first European-born general manager in NHL history.

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 an April 2014 goal while he was out injured?

A postponed game's resumption: 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 started the comeback from 3–1 down with a shorthanded goal, then won it 1:10 into the second overtime in Pittsburgh for a 4–3 victory.

Which defenseman did the Blue Jackets get from Nashville in January 2016 in exchange for their top center?

Seth Jones arrived in a one-for-one swap of former fourth-overall draft picks and anchored the Columbus defense until 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's team won 16 in a row from late November to early January; he picked up his 500th NHL win along the way, and the season earned him the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.

In 2016-17 Columbus won 16 straight games, one short of the NHL record set by which team?

The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins won 17 in a row; Columbus went unbeaten through all 14 of its December games, then saw the run end one win short with a 5–0 loss in Washington.

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

The Montreal Canadiens arrived 9-0-1, without a regulation loss all season, and left beaten 10–0; backup goalie Al Montoya was kept in for 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 for Saad and Anton Forsberg, broke the franchise points record in each of his two Columbus seasons, then walked away 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 Ottawa forwards did Columbus rent at the 2019 trade deadline?

Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel cost Columbus picks and prospects in February 2019; the club won its first playoff series that spring, and both men were gone as free agents by July.

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, took less money than Calgary offered and signed for seven years and $68.25 million with Columbus on the first day of free agency.

Which Blue Jackets 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: as a freshman Fantilli led the Wolverines to the Big Ten tournament title and became only the third first-year player to win the Hobey Baker Award, after Paul Kariya and Jack Eichel.

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

An 1857 Napoleon cannon replica booms whenever Columbus takes the ice, scores or wins at home, and in 2010 the club made it the crest of its third jersey.

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

A yellow jacket: the club calls Stinger 'a yellow jacket of a different color', a play on the team's name, and the bug first appeared as a logo when the name was unveiled in 1997.

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

The flag of Ohio, the only U.S. state flag that isn't a rectangle, began as architect John Eisenmann's banner for the Ohio Building at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition and became the official state flag a year later.

What did the stars on the Blue Jackets' first logo stand for?

The original colonies: 13 stars lined the ribbon, one for each, and the club brought the retired crest back in 2020 on a red 'Reverse Retro' jersey.

The Arena District around Nationwide Arena rose on the site of which former Columbus landmark?

The Ohio Penitentiary held inmates from 1834 until 1984, among them the writer O. Henry, who published stories under that pen name while serving time there for embezzlement.

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

A practice rink: the attached Ice Haus lets the Blue Jackets train where they play, and the idea has since spread to newer NHL arenas, the New Jersey Devils' home in Newark among them.

Who went first overall at Nationwide Arena's 2007 NHL Draft?

Patrick Kane went first overall to Chicago, where he won three Stanley Cups; Columbus, drafting seventh in its own building, chose Jakub Voracek.

Which Blue Jackets forward was voted MVP of the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus?

Ryan Johansen had two goals and two assists in his All-Star debut; Columbus was hosting two years late, after a lockout wiped out its 2013 game and the Olympics ruled out 2014.

Which Blue Jackets goaltender lost the starting job to Sergei Bobrovsky during the 2012-13 season?

Steve Mason, the NHL's top rookie four years earlier, lost the net to Bobrovsky 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 a Blue Jackets record and earned him which award for the second time?

The Vezina Trophy went to Bobrovsky after he led all qualifying goalies in both goals-against average (2.06) and save percentage in 2016–17; he had first won it in 2013, his debut season in Columbus.

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 goalie did Columbus acquire from Los Angeles in 2023, then trade to Vegas within two days?

Jonathan Quick, twice a Stanley Cup winner in Los Angeles, never played a game for Columbus: he was passed on to Vegas at the trade deadline and collected a third ring there that June.

The Blue Jackets played their first outdoor game in 2025 at which Columbus venue?

Ohio Stadium, the home of Ohio State football, held more than 94,000 fans for the Stadium Series game on March 1, 2025, and Columbus won 5–3 on Justin Danforth's goal with 2:17 left.

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.