Basic Guide for New Columbus Blue Jackets Fans: History of the CBJ
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a team on the rise and with an abundance of incoming fans, the New Year is a perfect time to introduce them to the team.
The Columbus Blue Jackets don’t have the history of a team like the Montreal Canadiens or Toronto Maple Leafs considering they’ve only been in the league for 19 years at this point. That doesn’t mean however that they don’t have an interesting history and it also means there’s a chance for the future to write the team’s legacy.
Below is a brief version of the Jackets history for those new fans out there looking for a 30,000 foot view at what has happened. Much of it isn’t pretty making the last few years of success that much more enjoyable.
All trade information from NHL Trade Tracker and season information is from Hockey-Reference.
The Doug MacLean Era
Doug MacLean was the first general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and was in charge of the expansion draft ahead of the 2000-2001 season. MacLean had previously served as head coach of the Florida Panthers prior to being hired as the GM of the expansion Blue Jackets. He hired Dave King as the first head coach in franchise history.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Lyle Odelein would be named the first captain in Blue Jackets history and would serve as captain for two seasons before being replaced by Ray Whitney at the start of the 2002-2003 season according to Hockey Reference. The first overall pick of the 2002 NHL Draft belonged to the Columbus Blue Jackets and they picked future superstar Rick Nash who would be the face of the franchise in coming years.
The 2002-2003 season would also mark the end of David King’s run with the Columbus Blue Jackets after two full losing seasons and a slow start to the third season. Doug MacLean would name himself as King’s successor. Eventually during the 2003-2004 season, MacLean would name Gerard Gallant the head coach.
The 2003-2004 season also marked the third captaincy of the Blue Jackets with Luke Richardson becoming captain. At the end of the season, Rick Nash would make Blue Jackets history by being the first, and only to this point, player from the team to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for leading the NHL in goals.
The 2004-2005 season would be missed league-wide due to a dispute between the NHL and NHL players union, the NHLPA. After the lockout however, the Blue Jackets would make a seemingly franchise changing signing. On August 1st, 2005, a day which haunts Blue Jackets fans looking back at it, Doug MacLean announced the signing of star defenseman Adam Foote from free agency.
Toward the end of the 2005-2006 season, Foote would be named captain when current captain Luke Richardson was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2006-2007 season would mark the end of Gerard Gallant’s run as head coach, he would be replaced by Ken Hitchcock who took over following a five game stint from Gary Agnew who was the interim head coach following Gallant’s release.
April 19th, 2007 would mark the end of the Doug MacLean era as he would be fired by the organization.
The Jim Clark and Scott Howson Eras
Following the firing of Doug MacLean, Jim Clark would temporarily be the interim general manager while the team searched for the permanent replacement. He didn’t do much, however he did trade away an unsigned draft pick in Adam McQuaid for a draft pick according to NHLTradeTracker.
Scott Howson would be hired prior to the 2007-2008 season which would be the Blue Jackets most successful season to date at that point in time. However, the team had yet to even make it to the post-season. Howson would also trade away the infamous Adam Foote in 2008.
The playoff drought would come to an end in the 2008-2009 season, as the team would make the playoffs for the first team in franchise history and would be matched up against the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. They would eventually be swept, losing all four games of the series, however it was a step in the right direction for the young team.
The 2009-2010 season would be a return to the prior bad habits and another failed season which would result in the departure of Ken Hitchcock. Hitchcock would temporarily be replaced by Claude Noel for the remainder of the season.
Noel would then be replaced by Scott Arniel to begin the 2010-2011 season, however the coaching change wouldn’t be enough to propel the Blue Jackets back to the playoffs and he wouldn’t even finish the 2011-2012 season as their head coach. Todd Richards would replace him permanently, taking over in the middle of the season.
The 2011-2012 season also featured the Jeff Carter debacle, which resulted in the Blue Jackets essentially turning former first round pick Jakub Voracek and two picks into Jack Johnson and a pick in the long run.
Following the 2012 season, Howson would be on a short leash. However, that season would also mark the beginning of the current Blue Jackets roster. Howson acquired players like Sergei Bobrovsky and Nick Foligno as well as traded Rick Nash.
In the middle of the 2012-2013 season, Howson would be fired and replaced by current Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.
The Jarmo Kekalainen Era
The Jarmo Kekalainen era for the Columbus Blue Jackets would start off with a bang seemingly, he signed star free agent Nathan Horton his first off-season as general manager. Unfortunately a freak back injury would result in Horton’s playing career coming to an end sooner than expected and he’d only play one season with the Blue Jackets.
It’s also worth mentioning, at the trade deadline in the 2012-2013 season he acquired Marian Gaborik in a deal that wouldn’t really work out for the Blue Jackets.
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The first major trade took place on June 23rd, 2014 though, when the Blue Jackets acquired Scott Hartnell from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for RJ Umberger and a mid round draft pick.
Kekalainen wasn’t afraid to make moves though, as he’d acquire Brandon Saad from the Chicago Blackhawks among other pieces for Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano and some other assets in 2015. Prior to the 2015-2016 season, Nick Foligno would be named captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Shortly after that, Todd Richards’ tenure would come to an end as the 2015-2016 season would start with an 0-8-0 record with Richards being replaced by John Tortorella after the seventh loss.
In January 2016, the Blue Jackets would trade star forward Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Seth Jones who has since become a top defenseman in the NHL. The failure of the 2015-2016 season would be a blessing in disguise for the organization however, as they’d be able to draft Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall in the NHL Entry Draft.
In June 2017, Brandon Saad would be traded back to the Blackhawks in exchange for star forward Artemi Panarin in a four player, two draft pick deal.
Next. Ranking Columbus Blue Jackets General Managers. dark
Starting with the the 2016-2017 season, they’ve made the playoffs every season however they are constantly being eliminated in the first round. They still have yet to win a round in the post-season in franchise history.