2007–08_Columbus_Blue_Jackets

2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season

2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets

Division 4th Central

Conference 13th Western

2007–08 record 34–36–12

Home record 20–14–7

Road record 14–22–5

Goals for 193

Goals against 218

General Manager Scott Howson

Coach Ken Hitchcock

Captain Adam Foote (Oct-Feb)
Rick Nash (Feb-Apr)

Alternate captains Sergei Fedorov (Oct-Feb)
Rostislav Klesla (Feb-Apr )
Fredrik Modin
Rick Nash (Oct-Feb)
Michael Peca (Feb-Apr )
David Vyborny

Arena Nationwide Arena

Average attendance 15,146 (83.5%)

Team leaders

Goals Rick Nash (38)

Assists Nikolai Zherdev (35)

Points Rick Nash (69)

Penalties in minutes Jared Boll (226)

Plus/Minus Jan Hejda (+20)

Wins Pascal Leclaire (24)

Goals against average Pascal Leclaire (2.25)

The 2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season began October 5, 2007. It was the Columbus Blue Jackets' 7th season in the National Hockey League.

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place in Columbus, Ohio on June 22–23
The free agency period began on July 1.
The Blue Jackets played 8 preseason games starting September 16.

The Blue Jackets attempted to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Scott Howson was hired prior to the 2007 NHL Entry Draft as the second General Manager in team history, replacing Doug MacLean.^[1] The Blue Jackets finished with a 34–36–12 record, earning 80 points and missing the playoffs. The Blue Jackets finished 4th in the Central Division, finishing above the St. Louis Blues and 13th in the Western Conference. On March 16, 2008, Columbus set a franchise record for points in a season, 75, with a 4–3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets started off the season well with a 7–3–1 record in October, but falling behind in the Western Conference in November with a 4–7–3 record. During the All-star break, Rick Nash was selected to participate in the 2008 All-Star Game for the Western Conference. He scored a record-breaking goal just 12 seconds into the period. Nash scored a total of 3 goals throughout the game, yet the Eastern Conference won the game 8–7. The Blue Jackets earned average records in December through February, staying within reach of a playoff spot. On February 26, Captain Adam Foote was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for 2 draft picks. Rick Nash was named the new captain of the team. In March, the Blue Jackets' chances of playing in the post-season were fading away after a 4–6–3 record due to the injury of starting goaltender, Pascal LeClaire. After being mathematically eliminated from making the playoffs, the Blue Jackets lost their last three games of the season.

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
p-Detroit Red Wings	82	54	21	7	257	184	115
x-Nashville Predators	82	41	32	9	230	229	91
e-Chicago Blackhawks	82	40	34	8	239	235	88
e-Columbus Blue Jackets	82	34	36	12	193	218	80
e-St. Louis Blues	82	33	36	13	205	237	79

Conference standings

Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
p-Detroit Red Wings *	82	54	21	7	257	184	115
y-San Jose Sharks *	82	49	23	10	222	193	108
y-Minnesota Wild *	82	44	28	10	223	218	98
x-Anaheim Ducks	82	47	27	8	205	191	102
x-Dallas Stars	82	45	30	7	242	207	97
x-Colorado Avalanche	82	44	31	7	231	219	95
x-Calgary Flames	82	42	30	10	229	227	94
x-Nashville Predators	82	41	32	9	230	229	91

e-Edmonton Oilers	82	41	35	6	235	251	88
e-Chicago Blackhawks	82	40	34	8	239	235	88
e-Vancouver Canucks	82	39	33	10	213	215	88
e-Phoenix Coyotes	82	38	37	7	214	231	83
e-Columbus Blue Jackets	82	34	36	12	193	218	80
e-St. Louis Blues	82	33	36	13	205	237	79
e-Los Angeles Kings	82	32	43	7	231	266	71

x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division title, p - clinched Presidents' Trophy and best record in conference, e - eliminated from playoff contention, * - division leader

Game log

October

Record: 7–3–1; Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Points
1	October 5	Anaheim	0 – 4	Columbus		Leclaire	17,852	1–0–0	2
2	October 6	Columbus	2 – 3	Minnesota		Norrena	18,568	1–1–0	2
3	October 10	Phoenix	0 – 3	Columbus		Leclaire	11,944	2–1–0	4
4	October 13	Columbus	1 – 5	Colorado		Leclaire	16,153	2–2–0	4
5	October 17	Dallas	3 – 2	Columbus	SO	Norrena	11,820	2–2–1	5
6	October 19	Columbus	3 – 0	Buffalo		Leclaire	18,690	3–2–1	7
7	October 21	Vancouver	4 – 1	Columbus		Leclaire	12,667	3–3–1	7
8	October 23	Columbus	7 – 4	Chicago		Norrena	10,884	4–3–1	9
9	October 25	St. Louis	0 – 3	Columbus		Leclaire	12,786	5–3–1	11
10	October 27	San Jose	1 – 2	Columbus		Leclaire	13,234	6–3–1	13
11	October 31	Columbus	4 – 1	Los Angeles		Leclaire	11,491	7–3–1	15

November

Record: 4–7–3; Home: 3–2–1; Road: 1–5–2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 1	Columbus	1 – 2	Anaheim	SO	Norrena	17,174	7–3–2	16
13	November 4	St. Louis	0 – 3	Columbus		Leclaire	13,254	8–3–2	18
14	November 7	Columbus	2 – 5	Chicago		Norrena	9,717	8–4–2	18
15	November 9	Columbus	1 – 4	Detroit		Leclaire	18,654	8–5–2	18
16	November 10	Columbus	3 – 4	Nashville	SO	Norrena	15,947	8–5–3	19
17	November 12	Nashville	4 – 1	Columbus		Leclaire	12,554	8–6–3	19
18	November 14	Chicago	2 – 4	Columbus		Leclaire	13,622	9–6–3	21
19	November 16	Columbus	2 – 3	St. Louis		Norrena	19,150	9–7–3	21
20	November 18	Detroit	5 – 4	Columbus	SO	Leclaire	15,503	9–7–4	22
21	November 21	Florida	5 – 2	Columbus		Leclaire	13,326	9–8–4	22
22	November 23	Columbus	4 – 0	Minnesota		Leclaire	18,568	10–8–4	24
23	November 24	Detroit	2 – 3	Columbus	SO	Leclaire	17,513	11–8–4	26
24	November 26	Columbus	1 – 3	Edmonton		Norrena	16,839	11–9–4	26
25	November 29	Columbus	0 – 2	Vancouver		Norrena	18,630	11–10–4	26

December

Record: 7–5–2; Home: 6–3–2; Road: 1–2–0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
26	December 1	Columbus	4 – 3	Calgary	OT	Norrena	19,289	12–10–4	28
27	December 3	Dallas	2 – 1	Columbus	SO	Leclaire	12,233	12–10–5	29
28	December 5	Colorado	4 – 5	Columbus		Norrena	12,851	13–10–5	31
29	December 8	Minnesota	2 – 1	Columbus		Leclaire	15,666	13–11–5	31
30	December 10	Anaheim	4 – 3	Columbus	OT	Leclaire	11,984	13–11–6	32
31	December 12	Colorado	1 – 4	Columbus		Norrena	13,150	14–11–6	34
32	December 15	Columbus	0 – 2	Boston		Norrena	14,058	14–12–6	34
33	December 18	Calgary	3 – 0	Columbus		Leclaire	13,181	14–13–6	34
34	December 21	Los Angeles	1 – 2	Columbus		LeClaire	14,034	15–13–6	36
35	December 23	Nashville	3 – 1	Columbus		Norrena	15,481	15–14–6	36
36	December 26	Atlanta	0 – 2	Columbus		LeClaire	15,726	16–14–6	38
37	December 27	Columbus	3 – 4	Nashville		Norrena	14,331	16–15–6	38
38	December 29	Carolina	1 – 4	Columbus		LeClaire	17,453	17–15–6	40
39	December 31	Edmonton	2 – 4	Columbus		LeClaire	16,774	18–15–6	42

January

Record: 7–7–0; Home: 3–1–0; Road: 4–6–0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 2	Columbus	1 – 2	Anaheim		LeClaire	17,174	18–16–6	42
41	January 3	Columbus	4 – 3	Los Angeles		Norrena	14,173	19–16–6	44
42	January 5	Columbus	2 – 3	San Jose		Norrena	17,496	19–17–6	44
43	January 8	Columbus	1 – 6	St. Louis		Norrena	14,818	19–18–6	44
44	January 11	St. Louis	4 – 6	Columbus		LeClaire	15,233	20–18–6	46
45	January 12	Nashville	1 – 2	Columbus	SO	LeClaire	16,230	21–18–6	48
46	January 15	Vancouver	2 – 3	Columbus		LeClaire	13,555	22–18–6	50
47	January 17	Columbus	4 – 3	Phoenix		LeClaire	11,114	23–18–6	52
48	January 19	Columbus	1 – 3	Dallas		Norrena	17,811	23–19–6	52
49	January 20	Columbus	1 – 3	Colorado		LeClaire	17,197	23–20–6	52
50	January 22	Columbus	4 – 2	Dallas		LeClaire	17,087	24–20–6	54
51	January 24	Columbus	1 – 0	Chicago		LeClaire	16,094	25–20–6	56
52	January 29	Phoenix	2 – 4	Columbus		LeClaire	15,127	25–21–6	56
53	January 31	Columbus	2 – 4	Nashville		Leclaire	13,745	25–22–6	56

February

Record: 5–5–3; Home: 0–3–2; Road: 5–2–1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
54	February 2	Minnesota	4 – 1	Columbus		Norrena	18,529	25–23–6	56
55	February 5	Washington	4 – 3	Columbus	OT	Norrena	14,450	25–23–7	57
56	February 7	Columbus	2 – 1	Phoenix		Norrena	13,918	26–23–7	59
57	February 8	Columbus	1 – 2	San Jose	OT	Norrena	17,210	26–23–8	60
58	February 10	Los Angeles	3 – 2	Columbus	SO	Leclaire	15,823	26–23–9	61
59	February 13	Chicago	7 – 2	Columbus		Norrena	14,918	26–24–9	61
60	February 15	Columbus	5 – 1	Detroit		Leclaire	20,066	27–24–9	63
61	February 17	Columbus	1 – 5	St. Louis		Leclaire	19,150	27–25–9	63
62	February 19	Columbus	1 – 3	Toronto		Leclaire	19,347	27–26–9	63
63	February 21	Columbus	3 – 2	Ottawa	SO	Leclaire	19,612	28–26–9	65
64	February 23	Columbus	3 – 0	Montreal		Leclaire	21,273	29–26–9	67
65	February 27	San Jose	4 – 2	Columbus		Leclaire	16,029	29–27–9	67
66	February 29	Columbus	3 – 2	Vancouver	OT	Leclaire	18,630	30–27–9	69

March

Record: 4–6–3; Home: 4–3–1; Road: 0–3–2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
67	March 2	Columbus	3 – 4	Edmonton	SO	Leclaire	16,839	30–27–10	70
68	March 4	Columbus	0 – 1	Calgary		Leclaire	19,289	30–28–10	70
69	March 7	Edmonton	2 – 1	Columbus	OT	Leclaire	14,933	30–28–11	71
70	March 9	Tampa Bay	3 – 5	Columbus		Leclaire	14,796	31–28–11	73
71	March 14	Chicago	6 – 3	Columbus		Norrena	15,699	31–29–11	73
72	March 16	Detroit	3 – 4	Columbus		Norrena	18,188	32–29–11	75
73	March 18	Calgary	0 – 3	Columbus		Norrena	14,270	33–29–11	77
74	March 19	Columbus	1 – 3	Detroit		Norrena	19,061	33–30–11	77
75	March 22	Detroit	4 – 1	Columbus		Norrena	17,681	33–31–11	77
76	March 25	Columbus	0 – 3	Nashville		Norrena	16,330	33–32–11	77
77	March 26	Chicago	0 – 4	Columbus		Norrena	14,454	34–32–11	79
78	March 28	Nashville	2 – 0	Columbus		Leclaire	15,595	34–33–11	79
79	March 30	Columbus	4 – 5	Chicago	SO	Norrena	20,885	34–33–12	80

April

Record: 0–3–0; Home: 0–1–0; Road 0–2–0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
80	April 3	Columbus	2 – 3	Detroit		Leclaire	19,435	34–34–12	80
81	April 5	Columbus	0 – 3	St. Louis		Leclaire	19,150	34–35–12	80
82	April 6	St. Louis	4 – 1	Columbus		Norrena	17,739	34–36–12	80

Green background indicates win.
Red background indicates regulation loss.
White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

Playoffs

The Blue Jackets did not qualify for the 2007–08 playoffs and remain the only NHL team to never have qualified for the playoffs.

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes; +/- = Plus/Minus

	Regular season						Playoffs
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
Rick Nash	80	38	31	69	95	2
Nikolai Zherdev	82	26	35	61	34	-9
Michael Peca	65	8	26	34	64	-1
Ron Hainsey	78	8	24	32	25	-7
Jason Chimera	81	14	17	31	98	-5
Manny Malhotra	71	11	18	29	34	-3
David Výborný	66	7	19	26	34	-8
Dan Fritsche	69	10	12	22	22	2
Jiří Novotný	65	8	14	22	24	-10
Rostislav Klesla	82	6	12	18	60	7

Final season stats

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

	Regular season									Playoffs
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Pascal Leclaire	54	2,986	24	17	6	115	9	.919	2.25
Fredrik Norrena	37	1,960	10	19	6	89	2	.896	2.72
Dan LaCosta	1	13	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	0.00

Final season stats

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Jared Boll Kris Russell	1st NHL Game	October 5, 2007
Kris Russell	1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point	October 5, 2007
Frederik Modin	200th NHL Assist	October 5, 2007
Jared Boll	1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point	October 10, 2007
Jason Chimera	300th NHL Game	October 23, 2007
David Vyborny	500th NHL Game 300th NHL Point	November 24, 2007
Andrew Murray	1st NHL Game	December 27, 2007
Andrew Murray	1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point	January 2, 2008
Rostislav Klesla	100th NHL Point	January 17, 2008
Kris Russell	1st NHL Goal	January 22, 2008

Transactions

The Blue Jackets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

November 15, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets Aaron Rome Clay Wilson	To Anaheim Ducks Geoff Platt
January 22, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Mark Rycroft	To Colorado Avalanche Darcy Campbell Philippe Dupuis
January 29, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets 6th Round Pick 2009 NHL Entry Draft	To San Jose Sharks Jody Shelley
February 1, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Dick Tärnström	To Edmonton Oilers Curtis Glencross
February 26, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional 1st Round Pick 2008 NHL Entry Draft or 2009 NHL Entry Draft Conditional 4th Round Pick 2009 NHL Entry Draft	To Colorado Avalanche Adam Foote
February 26, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ted Ruth	To Washington Capitals Sergei Fedorov

Free Agents

Player	Former team	Contract Terms
Sheldon Brookbank	Nashville Predators	1 year, $500,000
Jiří Novotný	Washington Capitals	2 years, $1.5 million
Jan Hejda	Edmonton Oilers	1 year, $1 million
Derek MacKenzie	Atlanta Thrashers	1 year, $475,000
Kris Beech	Washington Capitals	1 year, $585,000
Michael Peca	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $1.3 million plus incentives

Player	New team
Anders Eriksson	Calgary Flames
Aaron Johnson	New York Islanders

Draft picks

Columbus' picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.^[2] The Blue Jackets picked 7th overall in front of their hometown crowd.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	7	Jakub Voráček	RW	Czech Republic	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2	37	Stefan Legein	RW	Canada	Mississauga IceDogs (OHL)
2	53	Will Weber	D	United States	Gaylord High School (USHS-MI)
3	68	Jake Hansen	W	United States	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
4	94	Maxim Mayorov	W	Russia	Leninogorsk (Russia-2)
6	158	Allen York	G	Canada	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
7	211	Trent Vogelhuber	RW	United States	St. Louis Bandits (NAHL)

Farm teams

American Hockey League

Syracuse Crunch

East Coast Hockey League

Elmira Jackals

It was announced on October 4th that the Elmira Jackals will take over as the ECHL affiliate to the Blue Jackets, replacing the Dayton Bombers.

Roster

2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets Roster'

view • talk •

Goaltenders

GM: Scott Howson
Coach: Ken Hitchcock

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

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

^ Columbus hires Howson as new GM, tsn.ca, June 13, 2007
^ 2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com

External links

The Columbus Blue Jackets offical website

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), Elmira Jackals (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

2007–08 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