50 Fun Facts About Columbus Blue Jackets

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

They entered alongside the Minnesota Wild, taking the league to 30 teams.

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

Ohio raised 23 volunteer infantry regiments when Lincoln asked for ten, and produced Grant, Sherman and Sheridan.

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

The two clubs shared the 2000 expansion draft, held in Calgary.

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

Wendy's helped run the contest, which drew 14,000 entries before the list was cut to ten and then two.

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 corporation that financed Columbus's $150 million arena after a failed 1997 referendum is in what business?

The insurer's world headquarters sits across the street from the arena, which opened in 2000 bearing its name.

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

McConnell, the founder of Worthington Industries, is honored by the club alongside Johnny Gaudreau.

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?

It came in a 5-3 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the arena's first game.

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

The mark he equalled belonged to Lorne Chabot of the 1926-27 New York Rangers.

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

The Panthers also received the option to flip draft spots in 2003; Nash became the franchise leader in goals, points and games.

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

Thirteen-year-old Brittanie Cecil was struck by a deflected puck; the team wore 'BNC' hearts on their helmets afterward.

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

At 19 he was the youngest player ever to lead the league in goals, with 41.

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

Davos won the Swiss championship and the 2004 Spengler Cup that season.

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

Anaheim received Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin; Fedorov is one of the club's two Hall of Famers.

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

He is enshrined in the Hall of Fame and coached the club's first playoff team in 2009.

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

A 4-3 shootout win over Chicago sealed it; Detroit then swept them in four games.

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

The picks became Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins; Carter went on to Los Angeles for Jack Johnson.

Which team acquired Rick Nash from Columbus in July 2012?

Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a 2013 first-round pick came back.

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

He won the Vezina Trophy in his first Columbus season and again in 2016-17.

Jarmo Kekalainen, hired in 2013, made history as the NHL's first general manager born where?

He came from Jokerit in Finland and ran the club for 11 years.

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

They joined six former Patrick Division clubs after 13 seasons in the Western Conference.

Nathan Horton was credited with a goal in an April 2014 contest he never suited up for. Why?

The March 10 game against Dallas was halted after Rich Peverley's cardiac event with Columbus up 1-0, and the goal stood when play resumed.

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

Columbus rallied from 3-1 down; Nick Foligno won Game 4 in overtime after reportedly calling his shot in the room.

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

Jones later went to Chicago in 2021 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?

During the streak 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 Jackets went 14-0-0 in December 2016 before Washington ended the run 5-0.

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

It was the league's first ten-goal shutout since 2011.

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

Panarin became the team's points leader before leaving in free agency in 2019.

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

They were the first team ever to sweep a Presidents' Trophy winner in the opening round.

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

Bobrovsky, Duchene and Panarin all left as free agents that summer.

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

It was a rematch of the 2019 sweep, and Columbus went out in five games.

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

Dubois had been benched for two periods in what became his last game as a Blue Jacket.

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

Erik Gudbranson followed from Calgary; Gaudreau said he came 'to win hockey games'.

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

Pascal Vincent was named his successor after the Spittin' Chiclets allegations.

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

Fantilli was the third overall selection in the 2023 entry draft.

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

AC/DC's 'For Those About to Rock' title line plays when it fires; the team briefly had a cannon mascot named Boomer.

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

He stands 6-foot-9 with hockey sticks for eyebrows and was originally yellow before turning green.

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

Ohio's flag is a swallowtail burgee; the 2007 logo bends it into a 'C' around a star for the state capital.

How many stars ran along the red ribbon of the original CBJ logo, representing the Thirteen Colonies?

An electric gold hockey stick cut through the ribbon to form the 'J'.

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

The rink itself sits over the prison's old parking lot.

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

The OhioHealth IceHaus doubles as a public and youth-hockey rink.

Which annual fitness event, hosted by a former California governor, uses Nationwide Arena?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's festival also fills the Greater Columbus Convention Center each year.

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?

Bobrovsky finished that 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?

He led all qualifying goalies with a 2.06 GAA and .931 save percentage that year.

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

His No. 80 hung in Nationwide Arena all season, and a memorial fund promotes hockey in Columbus and his native Latvia.

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

He arrived in the trade that sent Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov to the Kings during the 25-48-9 'lost' season.

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?

He replaced Jarmo Kekalainen, fired that February after 11 years, while John Davidson moved into a senior advisor role.