2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season.html

This article documents a current ice hockey season.
Information may change as the event progresses.

2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	3rd Central
Conference	8th Western
2008–09 record	8–7–2
Home record	5–3–1
Road record	3–4–1
Goals for	54
Goals against	55
Team information
General Manager	Scott Howson
Coach	Ken Hitchcock
Captain	Rick Nash
Alternate captains	Rostislav Klesla Fredrik Modin
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Average attendance	13,461
Team leaders
Goals	Derick Brassard (8)
Assists	Jason Chimera (9)
Points	Derick Brassard (16)
Penalties in minutes	Derek Dorsett (56)
Plus/Minus	Derick Brassard (+7)
Wins	Pascal Leclaire (4)
Goals against average	Steve Mason (2.96)

The 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season is the 9th National Hockey League (NHL) season in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets enter the season looking to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The Jackets selected Russian forward Nikita Filatov with the sixth overall pick at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Filatov made an immediate impact with Columbus, scoring a goal in his NHL debut against the Nashville Predators.

Contents:	Regular season — Playoffs — Player stats — Awards and records — Transactions Roster — Draft picks — Farm teams — See also — References

Regular season

Divisional standings

Central Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
Detroit Red Wings	23	15	4	4	82	70	34
Chicago Blackhawks	22	10	6	6	75	65	26
Nashville Predators	23	11	10	2	68	77	24
Columbus Blue Jackets	23	10	10	3	68	73	23
St. Louis Blues	22	10	10	2	63	67	22

Conference standings

Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
San Jose Sharks *	23	19	3	1	89	55	39
Detroit Red Wings *	22	15	3	4	81	66	34
Vancouver Canucks *	23	14	7	2	72	56	30
Anaheim Ducks	24	13	8	3	70	69	29
Minnesota Wild	21	13	7	1	56	45	27
Calgary Flames	23	13	9	1	69	73	27
Chicago Blackhawks	21	10	5	6	73	60	26
Nashville Predators	22	11	9	2	66	71	24

Phoenix Coyotes	22	10	10	2	53	60	22
Los Angeles Kings	21	9	9	3	54	58	21
Columbus Blue Jackets	22	9	10	3	65	73	21
St. Louis Blues	20	9	9	2	57	61	20
Edmonton Oilers	21	9	10	2	54	64	20
Colorado Avalanche	22	10	12	0	54	63	20
Dallas Stars	22	7	11	4	61	83	18

* – division leader

Game log

Green background indicates win (2 points).
Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).

2008–09 Game Log

October: 4–6–0 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 2–4–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 10	Blue Jackets	5 – 4	Stars	OT	Leclaire	18,532	1–0–0	2
2	October 11	Blue Jackets	1 – 3	Coyotes		Leclaire	17,125	1–1–0	2
3	October 14	Blue Jackets	2 – 5	Sharks		Leclaire	17,496	1–2–0	2
4	October 17	Predators	3 – 5	Blue Jackets		Leclaire	17,930	2–2–0	4
5	October 18	Blue Jackets	3 – 6	Predators		Norrena	13,259	2–3–0	4
6	October 21	Canucks	2 - 4	Blue Jackets		Leclaire	12,057	3-3-0	6
7	October 24	Rangers	3 - 1	Blue Jackets		Leclaire	14,724	3-4-0	6
8	October 25	Blue Jackets	1 - 2	Wild		Leclaire	18,568	3-5-0	6
9	October 27	Ducks	3 - 2	Blue Jackets		Norrena	10,494	3-6-0	6
10	October 30	Blue Jackets	4 - 2	Avalanche		Norrena	14,945	4-6-0	8

November: 4–1–2 (Home: 3–1–1 ; Road: 1–0–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
11	November 1	Blackhawks	4 - 3	Blue Jackets	SO	Norrena	14,680	4-6-1	9
12	November 3	Blue Jackets	3 - 4	Islanders	OT	Norrena	10,184	4-6-2	10
13	November 5	Oilers	4 - 5	Blue Jackets		Mason	11,228	5-6-2	12
14	November 7	Canadiens	3 - 4	Blue Jackets	SO	Mason	14,603	6-6-2	14
15	November 8	Flames	1 – 3	Blue Jackets		Mason	14,088	7–6–2	16
16	November 12	Coyotes	5 – 2	Blue Jackets		Mason	11,350	7–7–2	16
17	November 14	Blue Jackets	6 – 1	Sabres		Leclaire	18,690	8–7–2	18
18	November 15	Blue Jackets		Wild
19	November 18	Oilers		Blue Jackets
20	November 22	Blue Jackets		Thrashers
21	November 26	Coyotes		Blue Jackets
22	November 28	Blue Jackets		Red Wings
23	November 29	Capitals		Blue Jackets

December: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
24	December 1	Canucks		Blue Jackets
25	December 4	Blue Jackets		Sharks
26	December 6	Blue Jackets		Kings
27	December 7	Blue Jackets		Ducks
28	December 11	Predators		Blue Jackets
29	December 13	Islanders		Blue Jackets
30	December 14	Blue Jackets		Blackhawks
31	December 17	Sharks		Blue Jackets
32	December 18	Blue Jackets		Stars
33	December 20	Blue Jackets		Coyotes
34	December 23	Kings		Blue Jackets
35	December 27	Flyers		Blue Jackets
36	December 29	Blue Jackets		Kings
37	December 31	Blue Jackets		Ducks

January: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
38	January 2	Blue Jackets		Avalanche
39	January 3	Blue Jackets		Blues
40	January 6	Blue Jackets		Red Wings
41	January 9	Blue Jackets		Capitals
42	January 10	Wild		Blue Jackets
43	January 13	Avalanche		Blue Jackets
44	January 16	Devils		Blue Jackets
45	January 18	Blue Jackets		Canucks
46	January 20	Blue Jackets		Oilers
47	January 21	Blue Jackets		Flames
48	January 27	Red Wings		Blue Jackets
49	January 30	Senators		Blue Jackets
50	January 31	Stars		Blue Jackets

February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
51	February 3	Blues		Blue Jackets
52	February 6	Blue Jackets		Penguins
53	February 7	Sharks		Blue Jackets
54	February 10	Avalanche		Blue Jackets
55	February 13	Red Wings		Blue Jackets
56	February 14	Blue Jackets		Hurricanes
57	February 16	Stars		Blue Jackets
58	February 18	Blues		Blue Jackets
59	February 19	Blue Jackets		Maple Leafs
60	February 21	Ducks		Blue Jackets
61	February 24	Blue Jackets		Flames
62	February 26	Blue Jackets		Oilers

March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
63	March 1	Blue Jackets		Canucks
64	March 3	Kings		Blue Jackets
65	March 5	Blue Jackets		Predators
66	March 7	Blue Jackets		Red Wings
67	March 10	Bruins		Blue Jackets
68	March 12	Penguins		Blue Jackets
69	March 13	Blue Jackets		Blackhawks
70	March 15	Red Wings		Blue Jackets
71	March 18	Blackhawks		Blue Jackets
72	March 21	Blue Jackets		Panthers
73	March 24	Blue Jackets		Lightning
74	March 26	Flames		Blue Jackets
75	March 28	Blue Jackets		Blues
76	March 29	Blues		Blue Jackets
77	March 31	Predators		Blue Jackets

April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
78	April 4	Blue Jackets		Predators
79	April 5	Blackhawks		Blue Jackets
80	April 8	Blue Jackets		Blackhawks
81	April 10	Blue Jackets		Blues
82	April 11	Wild		Blue Jackets

Playoffs

Skaters

		Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Rick Nash	61	22	10	9	19	+3	16	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derick Brassard	16	21	8	11	19	+8	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jason Chimera	25	22	6	10	16	+8	23	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kristian Huselius	20	21	8	7	15	-5	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
R.J. Umberger	18	22	8	5	13	+1	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jakub Voracek	93	22	4	8	12	+7	16	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fedor Tyutin	51	22	3	8	11	-3	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mike Commodore	22	22	0	9	9	0	34	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fredrik Modin	33	16	2	6	8	-10	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Peca	19	17	1	5	6	-5	30	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marc Methot	3	16	3	3	6	+5	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
Manny Malhotra	27	17	3	2	5	+6	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rostislav Klesla	97	13	1	3	4	+2	10	-	-	-	-	-	-
Christian Backman	5	21	1	3	4	+2	16	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jiri Novotny	12	15	1	3	4	+5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Andrew Murray	17	18	2	2	4	-5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jan Hejda	8	22	1	3	4	+4	10	-	-	-	-	-	-
Raffi Torres	14	12	0	3	3	-2	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derek Dorsett	15	12	1	1	2	-1	63	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jared Boll	40	16	0	2	2	-4	57	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikita Filatov	28	4	1	0	1	+1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	55	11	0	1	1	0	16	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kris Russell	10	6	0	1	1	-2	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alexandre Picard	21	6	0	0	0	-1	22	-	-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blue Jackets. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Goaltenders

		Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#	GP	MIN	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Pascal Leclaire	31	10	549	4	5	0	33	0	.879	3.61	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Mason	1	7	427	4	2	1	17	1	.908	2.39	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fredrik Norrena	30	8	323	1	3	2	17	0	.872	3.16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Daniel LaCosta	34	1	35	0	0	0	2	0	.895	3.43	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Jakub Voracek	1st NHL Game 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point	October 10, 2008
Derek Dorsett	1st NHL Game	October 11, 2008
Mike Commodore	300th NHL Game	October 17, 2008
Nikita Filatov	1st NHL Game 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point	October 17, 2008
Marc Methot	1st NHL Goal	October 18, 2008
Derek Dorsett	1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point	October 21, 2008
Derek Dorsett	1st NHL Assist	October 30, 2008

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets R. J. Umberger Fourth round pick in 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers 19th overall pick in 2008 Third round pick in 2008
July 1, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Raffi Torres	To Edmonton Oilers Gilbert Brule
July 2, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Fedor Tyutin Christian Backman	To New York Rangers Nikolai Zherdev Dan Fritsche

Free Agents

Player	Former team	Contract Terms
Mike Commodore	Ottawa Senators	5 years, $18.75 million
Kristian Huselius	Calgary Flames	4 years, $19 million

Player	New team
Ron Hainsey	Atlanta Thrashers
Zenon Konopka	Tampa Bay Lightning

Claimed from Waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

The Blue Jackets entered the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa with the 6th overall selection. Columbus drafted Russian forward Nikita Filatov with the pick.¹ Filatov started the season with the Jackets' American Hockey League affiliate, scoring two goals in two games for the Syracuse Crunch before being recalled to the NHL.² Filatov made his NHL debut on October 17, scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators.³

Rnd	Pick	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (league)	NHL statistics
Rnd	Pick	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1	6	Nikita Filatov	Russia	LW	CSKA Moscow (RSL)	Made debut in 2008–09
2	37	Cody Goloubef	Canada	D	Univ. of Wisconsin (NCAA)
4	107	Steven Delisle	Canada	D	Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
4	118	Drew Olson	United States	D	Brainerd High School (USHS-Minnesota)
5	127	Matthew Calvert	Canada	LW	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5	135	Tomas Kubalik	Czech Republic	RW	HC Plzen (Czech Extraliga)
5	137	Brent Regner	Canada	D	Vancouver Giants (WHL)
6	157	Cameron Atkinson	United States	RW	Avon Old Farms School (USHS-Connecticut)
7	187	Sean Collins	Canada	C	Waywayseecappo Wolverines (MJHL)

Roster

view • talk •

Updated November 16, 2008.[1]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
5	Sweden	Backman, ChristianChristian Backman	2.0 D	L	28	2008	Alingsas, Sweden
40	United States	Boll, JaredJared Boll	7.0 RW	R	22	2005	Charlotte, North Carolina
16	Canada	Brassard, DerickDerick Brassard	4.0 C	L	21	2006	Hull, Quebec
25	Canada	Chimera, JasonJason Chimera	6.0 LW	L	29	2005	Edmonton, Alberta
22	Canada	Commodore, MikeMike Commodore	2.0 D	R	29	2008	Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
8	Czech Republic	Hejda, JanJan Hejda	2.0 D	L	30	2007	Prague, Czechoslovakia
20	Sweden	Huselius, KristianKristian Huselius	6.0 LW	L	30	2008	Osterhaninge, Sweden
97	Czech Republic	Klesla, RostislavRostislav Klesla (A)	2.0 D	L	26	2000	Novy Jicin, Czechoslovakia
31	Canada	Leclaire, PascalPascal Leclaire	1.0 G	L	26	2001	Repentigny, Quebec
27	Canada	Malhotra, MannyManny Malhotra (A)	4.0 C	L	28	2003	Mississauga, Ontario
1	Canada	Mason, SteveSteve Mason	1.0 G	L	20	2006	Oakville, Ontario
3	Canada	Methot, MarcMarc Methot	2.0 D	L	23	2003	Ottawa, Ontario
33	Sweden	Modin, FredrikFredrik Modin (A)	6.0 LW	L	34	2006	Sundsvall, Sweden
17	Canada	Murray, AndrewAndrew Murray	4.0 C	L	27	2001	Selkirk, Manitoba
61	Canada	Nash, RickRick Nash (C)	6.0 LW	L	24	2002	Brampton, Ontario
30	Finland	Norrena, FredrikFredrik Norrena	1.0 G	L	35	2006	Pietarsaari, Finland
12	Czech Republic	Novotny, JiriJiri Novotny	4.0 C	R	25	2007	Pelhrimov, Czechoslovakia
19	Canada	Peca, MichaelMichael Peca (A)	4.0 C	R	34	2007	Toronto, Ontario
55	Norway	Tollefsen, Ole-KristianOle-Kristian Tollefsen	2.0 D	L	24	2002	Oslo, Norway
14	Canada	Torres, RaffiRaffi Torres	6.0 LW	L	27	2008	Toronto, Ontario
51	Russia	Tyutin, FedorFedor Tyutin	2.0 D	L	25	2008	Izhevsk, U.S.S.R.
18	United States	Umberger, R.J.R.J. Umberger	4.0 C	L	26	2008	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
93	Czech Republic	Voracek, JakubJakub Voracek	7.0 RW	L	19	2007	Kladno, Czechoslovakia

Farm teams

American Hockey League

Syracuse Crunch

East Coast Hockey League

Johnstown Chiefs

GM Scott Howson announced on August 22, 2008 that the Blue Jackets reached an agreement with the Johnstown Chiefs to serve as the club's ECHL affiliate for the 2008-09 season, replacing the Elmira Jackals.

References

Player stats: Columbus Blue Jackets player stats on espn.com
Game log: Columbus Blue Jackets game log on espn.com
Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com

^ 2008 Entry Draft – First round tracker, TSN, http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11513, retrieved on 24 October 2008
^ Jared Boll on IR, Nikita Filatov joins Blue Jackets, Canadian Press, 2008-10-15, http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iO8odo6tnDurOzD3e1ABPTQ1BNrQ, retrieved on 24 October 2008
^ Valiquette blanks Leafs; Filatov nets first goal, Associated Press, 2008-10-17, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gysKr8DzM3-bgmha-l6ZuCinKd8wD93SR6UO0, retrieved on 24 October 2008

v • d • e Columbus Blue Jackets

Players • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • Nationwide Arena

Head Coaches	King • MacLean • Gallant • Agnew • Hitchcock

Affiliates	Syracuse Crunch (AHL), Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL), Youngstown Steelhounds (CHL)

v • d • e Columbus Blue Jackets seasons

2000s	2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09

v • d • e

2008–09 NHL season by team

Atlantic	New Jersey Devils • New York Islanders • New York Rangers • Philadelphia Flyers • Pittsburgh Penguins

Northeast	Boston Bruins • Buffalo Sabres • Montreal Canadiens • Ottawa Senators • Toronto Maple Leafs

Southeast	Atlanta Thrashers • Carolina Hurricanes • Florida Panthers • Tampa Bay Lightning • Washington Capitals

Central	Chicago Blackhawks • Columbus Blue Jackets • Detroit Red Wings • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues

Northwest	Calgary Flames • Colorado Avalanche • Edmonton Oilers • Minnesota Wild • Vancouver Canucks

Pacific	Anaheim Ducks • Dallas Stars • Los Angeles Kings • Phoenix Coyotes • San Jose Sharks