2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season

2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division4th Central
Conference13th Western
2007–08 record34–36–12
Home record20–14–7
Road record14–22–5
Goals for193
Goals against218
Team information
General managerScott Howson
CoachKen Hitchcock
CaptainAdam Foote (Oct.–Feb.)
Rick Nash (Feb.–Apr.)
Alternate captainsSergei Fedorov (Oct.–Feb.)
Rostislav Klesla (Feb.–Apr.)
Fredrik Modin
Rick Nash (Oct.–Feb.)
Michael Peca (Feb.–Apr.)
David Vyborny
ArenaNationwide Arena
Average attendance15,146 (83.5%)
Team leaders
GoalsRick Nash (38)
AssistsNikolay Zherdev (35)
PointsRick Nash (69)
Penalty minutesJared Boll (226)
Plus/minusJan Hejda (+20)
WinsPascal Leclaire (24)
Goals against averagePascal Leclaire (2.25)

The 2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season began October 5, 2007. It was the Blue Jackets' eighth season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

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 fourth 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 three goals in 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 two 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.

Regular season

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Divisional standings

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Central Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 p – Detroit Red Wings 82 54 21 7 257 184 115
2 Nashville Predators 82 41 32 9 230 229 91
3 Chicago Blackhawks 82 40 34 8 239 235 88
4 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 34 36 12 193 218 80
5 St. Louis Blues 82 33 36 13 205 237 79

Conference standings

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Western Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 p – Detroit Red Wings CE 82 54 21 7 257 184 115
2 y – San Jose Sharks PA 82 49 23 10 222 193 108
3 y – Minnesota Wild NW 82 44 28 10 223 218 98
4 Anaheim Ducks PA 82 47 27 8 205 191 102
5 Dallas Stars PA 82 45 30 7 242 207 97
6 Colorado Avalanche NW 82 44 31 7 231 219 95
7 Calgary Flames NW 82 42 30 10 229 227 94
8 Nashville Predators CE 82 41 32 9 230 229 91
8.5
9 Edmonton Oilers NW 82 41 35 6 235 251 88
10 Chicago Blackhawks CE 82 40 34 8 239 235 88
11 Vancouver Canucks NW 82 39 33 10 213 215 88
12 Phoenix Coyotes PA 82 38 37 7 214 231 83
13 Columbus Blue Jackets CE 82 34 36 12 193 218 80
14 St. Louis Blues CE 82 33 36 13 205 237 79
15 Los Angeles Kings PA 82 32 43 7 231 266 71

Divisions: PA – Pacific, CE – Central, NW – Northwest
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, pPresidents' Trophy winner


Schedule and results

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October

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Rick Nash LW 80 38 31 69 95 2 10 4 6
Nikolay Zherdev W 82 26 35 61 34 -9 7 0 3
Michael Peca C 65 8 26 34 64 -1 3 0 3
Ron Hainsey D 78 8 24 32 25 -7 8 0 0
Jason Chimera LW 81 14 17 31 98 -5 1 1 3
Manny Malhotra C 71 11 18 29 34 -3 2 0 2
Sergei Fedorov C 50 9 19 28 30 -3 5 0 1
David Vyborny RW 66 7 19 26 34 -8 2 0 0
Dan Fritsche C 69 10 12 22 22 2 1 1 4
Jiri Novotny C 65 8 14 22 24 -10 1 0 0
Rostislav Klesla D 82 6 12 18 60 7 3 0 1
Adam Foote D 63 1 14 15 95 3 0 1 0
Jan Hejda D 81 0 13 13 61 20 0 0 0
Curtis Glencross C 36 6 6 12 25 3 1 0 1
Fredrik Modin LW 23 6 6 12 20 1 2 0 1
Andrew Murray C 39 6 4 10 12 0 0 0 0
Jared Boll RW 75 5 5 10 226 -4 0 0 3
Kris Russell D 67 2 8 10 14 -12 1 0 1
Kris Beech C 16 5 4 9 2 3 2 0 0
Dick Tarnstrom D 19 2 7 9 12 -5 1 0 0
Gilbert Brule C 61 1 8 9 24 -4 0 0 1
Joakim Lindstrom C 25 3 4 7 14 0 2 0 1
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 51 2 2 4 111 -3 0 1 0
Duvie Westcott D 23 1 3 4 30 -10 1 0 0
Derek MacKenzie C 17 2 0 2 8 -2 0 0 0
Derick Brassard C 17 1 1 2 6 -4 0 0 0
Aaron Rome D 17 1 1 2 33 -4 0 0 0
Clay Wilson D 7 1 1 2 2 3 0 0 0
Pascal Leclaire G 54 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Fredrik Norrena G 37 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Zenon Konopka C 3 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0
Dan LaCosta G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Marc Methot D 9 0 0 0 8 -1 0 0 0
Alexandre Picard LW 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Adam Pineault RW 3 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Tom Sestito LW 1 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 0
Jody Shelley LW 31 0 0 0 44 -2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Pascal Leclaire 2986 54 24 17 6 112 2.25 9 1379 1267 .919
Fredrik Norrena 1960 37 10 19 6 89 2.72 2 856 767 .896
Dan LaCosta 13 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 5 5 1.000
Team: 4959 82 34 36 12 201 2.43 11 2240 2039 .910

[2]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/Overtime Losses; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

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Records

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Milestones

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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
Fredrik 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 (ice hockey) 1st NHL Game December 27, 2007
Andrew Murray (ice hockey) 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

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

Trades

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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 in 2009 – David Pacan
To San Jose Sharks
Jody Shelley
February 1, 2008 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Dick Tarnstrom
To Edmonton Oilers
Curtis Glencross
February 26, 2008 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Conditional 1st-round pick in 2008 or 2009 – Luca Sbisa
Conditional 4th-round pick in 2009 – David Savard
To Colorado Avalanche
Adam Foote
February 26, 2008 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Ted Ruth
To Washington Capitals
Sergei Fedorov

Free agents

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Player Former team Contract Terms
Sheldon Brookbank Nashville Predators 1 year, $500,000
Jiri Novotny 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

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Columbus' picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.[3] The Blue Jackets picked 7th overall in front of their hometown crowd.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 7 Jakub Voracek 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 Neftyanik 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

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American Hockey League

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Syracuse Crunch

ECHL

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Columbus hires Howson as new GM, tsn.ca, June 13, 2007
  2. ^ "2007-08 Columbus Blue Jackets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
  3. ^ 2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com [dead link]
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