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2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season

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2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division4th Central
Conference7th Western
2008–09 record41–31–10
Home record25–13–3
Road record16–18–7
Goals for226
Goals against230
Team information
General managerScott Howson
CoachKen Hitchcock
CaptainRick Nash
Alternate captainsRostislav Klesla
Fredrik Modin
Michael Peca
ArenaNationwide Arena
Average attendance15,543
Team leaders
GoalsRick Nash (40)
AssistsRick Nash (39)
PointsRick Nash (79)
Penalty minutesJared Boll (180)
Plus/minusJan Hejda (+23)
WinsSteve Mason (33)
Goals against averageSteve 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

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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

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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]

Divisional standings

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Central Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 y – Detroit Red Wings 82 51 21 10 295 244 112
2 Chicago Blackhawks 82 46 24 12 264 216 104
3 St. Louis Blues 82 41 31 10 233 233 92
4 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 41 31 10 226 230 92
5 Nashville Predators 82 40 34 8 213 233 88

Conference standings

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Western Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 p – San Jose Sharks PA 82 53 18 11 257 204 117
2 y – Detroit Red Wings CE 82 51 21 10 295 244 112
3 y – Vancouver Canucks NW 82 45 27 10 246 220 100
4 Chicago Blackhawks CE 82 46 24 12 264 216 104
5 Calgary Flames NW 82 46 30 6 254 248 98
6 St. Louis Blues CE 82 41 31 10 233 233 92
7 Columbus Blue Jackets CE 82 41 31 10 226 230 92
8 Anaheim Ducks PA 82 42 33 7 245 238 91
8.5
9 Minnesota Wild NW 82 40 33 9 219 200 89
10 Nashville Predators CE 82 40 34 8 213 233 88
11 Edmonton Oilers NW 82 38 35 9 234 248 85
12 Dallas Stars PA 82 36 35 11 230 257 83
13 Phoenix Coyotes PA 82 36 39 7 208 252 79
14 Los Angeles Kings PA 82 34 37 11 207 234 79
15 Colorado Avalanche NW 82 32 45 5 199 257 69

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner
CE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division


Schedule and results

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Pre-season

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Regular season

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2008–09 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

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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:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 

Goaltenders

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Note:  Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;
Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Steve Mason 61 3663 33 20 7 140 2.29 1658 1518 .916 10
Pascal Leclaire‡ 12 673 4 6 1 43 3.83 324 281 .867 0
Fredrik Norrena 8 323 1 3 2 17 3.16 133 116 .872 0
Wade Dubielewicz 3 168 1 2 0 10 3.56 77 67 .870 0
Dan LaCosta 3 155 2 0 0 4 1.54 80 76 .950 1
Playoffs
Player GP Min W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Steve Mason 4 239 0 4 17 4.26 139 122 .878 0

†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

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Awards

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Steve Mason - Calder Memorial Trophy

Rick Nash – NHL Foundation Player Award

Records

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Player Record Number Reached
Steve Mason Consecutive shutout minutes 199:19 January 2, 2009
Rick Nash 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
Jan Hejda Highest Plus/Minus Rating - Season +23 April 11, 2009

Milestones

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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
Steve Mason 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Win		 November 5, 2008
Steve Mason 1st NHL Shutout November 22, 2008
Maksim Mayorov 1st NHL Game January 3, 2009
Nikita Filatov 1st NHL Hat Trick January 10, 2009
Fredrik Modin 800th NHL Game January 10, 2009
Ken Hitchcock 500th NHL Victory February 19, 2009

Transactions

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Trades

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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

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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

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Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
Wade Dubielewicz New York Islanders January 17, 2009
Chris Gratton Tampa Bay Lightning February 21, 2009

Draft picks

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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]

Rnd Pick Player Nat Pos Team (league) NHL statistics
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 University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
4 107 Steven Delisle  Canada D Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
4 118 Drew Olson  United States D Brainerd High School (USHS-MN)
5 127 Matt Calvert  Canada LW Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5 135 Tomas Kubalik  Czech Republic RW HC Plzeň (Czech Extraliga)
5 137 Brent Regner  Canada D Vancouver Giants (WHL)
6 157 Cam Atkinson  United States RW Avon Old Farms (USHS-CT)
7 187 Sean Collins  Canada C Waywayseecappo Wolverines (MJHL)

See also

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Farm teams

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American Hockey League

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Syracuse Crunch

ECHL

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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

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  1. ^ "Blue Jackets lose Steve Mason for 4-6 weeks". CBC. September 23, 2008. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
  2. ^ "Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason named NHL rookie of the month". Canadian Press. December 2, 2008. Archived from the original on December 13, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
  3. ^ "Blue Jackets G Steve Mason named rookie of the month again". National Post. January 2, 2009. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  4. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltender Steve Mason to Miss this Weekend's NHL YoungStars Game". Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey Club. January 20, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  5. ^ "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". Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  6. ^ "2008-09 Columbus Blue Jackets Roster and Statistics".
  7. ^ "2008-09 NHL Summary".
  8. ^ "2008-09 NHL Schedule and Results".
  9. ^ "2008 Entry Draft – First round tracker". TSN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ "Jared Boll on IR, Nikita Filatov joins Blue Jackets". Canadian Press. October 15, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[dead link]
  11. ^ "Valiquette blanks Leafs; Filatov nets first goal". Associated Press. October 17, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[dead link]
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