2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season explained

League:NHL
Season:2008–09
Year:2008
Team:Columbus Blue Jackets
Conferencerank:7th
Divisionrank:4th
Record:41–31–10
Homerecord:25–13–3
Roadrecord:16–18–7
Goalsfor:226
Goalsagainst:230
Attendance:15,543
Goalsleader:Rick Nash (40)
Assistsleader:Rick Nash (39)
Pointsleader:Rick Nash (79)
Plusminusleader:Jan Hejda (+23)
Pimleader:Jared Boll (180)
Winsleader:Steve Mason (33)
Gaaleader:Steve Mason (2.29)

The 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the ninth National Hockey League (NHL) season in Columbus, Ohio. On April 8, 2009, the Blue Jackets clinched a playoff berth after a shootout victory against the Chicago Blackhawks, the first berth in team history.

Preseason

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. Columbus was rather aggressive in free agency, signing proven forward Kristian Huselius, and solidifying the defensive core with veteran Mike Commodore. General Manager Scott Howson also engineered two key pre-season trades, trading a draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for R. J. Umberger, and trading stars Nikolay Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers in exchange for defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman.

Regular season

Rookie goaltender Steve Mason, who missed the first month of the season following knee surgery,[1] led the Blue Jackets into playoff contention at the All-Star break. Recalled from the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch following Pascal Leclaire's injury, Mason was named the Rookie of the Month by the NHL for November after recording five wins in eight decisions, including two shutouts.[2] He again won Rookie of the Month honors in December,[3] and was named to the YoungStars team at the 2009 All-Star Game in Montreal, though he declined to play after suffering back spasms.[4] Captain Rick Nash was the team's representative at the All-Star Game, his fourth appearance at the game. Rookie Nikita Filatov scored his first career hat trick on January 10, 2009, in a 4–2 win against the Minnesota Wild. Filatov's achievement marked the first hat trick by a Blue Jackets rookie. On the eve of the NHL trade deadline, Columbus traded recently oft-injured goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a draft pick to the Ottawa Senators for forward Antoine Vermette.[5] Vermette made an instant impact with the club, racking up seven points in his first six games.

The Blue Jackets struggled on the power play, finishing 30th in power-play goals (41) and power-play percentage (12.73%). They also had the most shutouts of any team in the league, with 11.[6] [7] [8]

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

2008–09 Game Log
Legend:

Playoffs

See main article: 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blue Jackets have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Legend:

Player statistics

Goaltenders

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

Awards and records

Awards

Steve Mason - Calder Memorial Trophy

Rick Nash – NHL Foundation Player Award

Records

Player Record Number Reached
Consecutive shutout minutes 199:19 January 2, 2009
Most Points Scored - Career 318 pts January 18, 2009
Team Most Goals Scored - Game 8 goals March 7, 2009
Team Largest Margin of Victory 6 goals March 7, 2009
Steve Mason Most Wins - Season 28 wins March 12, 2009
Team Most Wins - Season 36 wins March 13, 2009
Team Most Points - Season 82 points March 21, 2009
Steve Mason Most Shutouts - Season 10 shutouts March 26, 2009
Rick Nash Most Points Scored - Season 79 pts April 8, 2009
Highest Plus/Minus Rating - Season +23 April 11, 2009

Milestones

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point 		October 10, 2008
1st NHL Game October 11, 2008
300th NHL Game October 17, 2008
1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point 		October 17, 2008
1st NHL Goal October 18, 2008
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point 		October 21, 2008
1st NHL Assist October 30, 2008
1st NHL Game
1st NHL Win 		November 5, 2008
1st NHL Shutout November 22, 2008
1st NHL Game January 3, 2009
1st NHL Hat Trick January 10, 2009
800th NHL Game January 10, 2009
500th NHL Victory February 19, 2009

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008
To Columbus Blue Jackets
R. J. Umberger
4th-round pick in 2008 – Drew Olson		To Philadelphia Flyers
1st-round pick in 2008 – Luca Sbisa
Third-round pick in 2008 – Marc-Andre Bourdon
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
Nikolay Zherdev
Dan Fritsche
January 10, 2009
To Columbus Blue Jackets
Mike Blunden		To Chicago Blackhawks
Adam Pineault
January 14, 2009
To Columbus Blue Jackets
Jason Williams		To Atlanta Thrashers
Clay Wilson
6th-round pick in 2009 – David Pacan
March 4, 2009
To Columbus Blue Jackets
Antoine Vermette		To Ottawa Senators
Pascal Leclaire
2nd-round pick in 2009 – Robin Lehner
March 4, 2009
To Columbus Blue Jackets
Kevin Lalande		To Calgary Flames
4th-round pick in 2009 – Garrett Wilson

Free agents

Player Former team Contract Terms
5 years, $18.75 million
4 years, $19 million
Player New team
Atlanta Thrashers
Tampa Bay Lightning

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
Wade DubielewiczNew York IslandersJanuary 17, 2009
Chris GrattonTampa Bay LightningFebruary 21, 2009

Draft picks

The Blue Jackets entered the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa with the sixth overall selection. Columbus drafted Russian forward Nikita Filatov with the pick.[9] 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.[10] Filatov made his NHL debut on October 17, scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators.[11]

RndPickPlayerNatPosTeam (league)NHL statistics
GPGAPtsPIM
1 6 LW CSKA Moscow (RSL) Made debut in 2008–09
2 37 D University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
4 107 D Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
4 118 Drew Olson D Brainerd High School (USHS-MN)
5 127 LW Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5 135 RW HC Plzeň (Czech Extraliga)
5 137 D Vancouver Giants (WHL)
6 157 RW Avon Old Farms (USHS-CT)
7 187 C Waywayseecappo Wolverines (MJHL)

See also

Farm teams

American Hockey League

Syracuse Crunch

ECHL

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Blue Jackets lose Steve Mason for 4-6 weeks. 2008-12-02. 2008-09-23. CBC.
  2. Web site: Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason named NHL rookie of the month. 2008-12-02. 2008-12-02. Canadian Press. https://web.archive.org/web/20081213003443/https://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jelc-HDk-2SyaZ-lyf8s40x348Gw. 13 December 2008 . dead.
  3. News: Blue Jackets G Steve Mason named rookie of the month again . 2009-01-02 . 2009-01-02 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20090207191513/http://nationalpost.pa-sportsticker.com/default.aspx?s=nhl-news-display&nid=A38328411230931321A . 7 February 2009 . dead .
  4. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltender Steve Mason to Miss this Weekend's NHL YoungStars Game . Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey Club . 2009-01-20 . 2009-01-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122215802/http://bluejackets.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=405332. 22 January 2009 . dead.
  5. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets - News: Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Center Antoine Vermette from the Ottawa Senators in Exchange for Goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a Second Round Pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft - 03/04/2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090309004304/http://bluejackets.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=412147 . 2009-03-09 . dead . 2009-03-20 .
  6. Web site: 2008-09 Columbus Blue Jackets Roster and Statistics.
  7. Web site: 2008-09 NHL Summary.
  8. Web site: 2008-09 NHL Schedule and Results.
  9. 2008 Entry Draft – First round tracker . 2008-10-24 . TSN. https://web.archive.org/web/20081010033327/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11513. 10 October 2008 . live.
  10. Jared Boll on IR, Nikita Filatov joins Blue Jackets . Canadian Press . 2008-10-15 . 2008-10-24.
  11. Valiquette blanks Leafs; Filatov nets first goal . Associated Press . 2008-10-17 . 2008-10-24.

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