2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets season

Off-season

The team would be named the Blue Jackets, as it was chosen to celebrate "patriotism, pride and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and the city of Columbus". The Jackets would join the Central Division in the Western Conference.

The club would name Doug MacLean as general manager. MacLean had previously been the head coach of the Florida Panthers, leading the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. MacLean hired Dave King as the head coach of the Jackets. King had previously been the head coach of the Calgary Flames from 1992 to 1995, and was an assistant on the Montreal Canadiens from 1997 to 1999.

On June 23, 2000, the Blue Jackets and their expansion cousins, the Minnesota Wild, participated in the 2000 NHL expansion draft in Calgary. Columbus selected goaltender Rick Tabaracci with their first pick. The following day on June 24, Columbus would participate in the 2000 NHL entry draft, and selected Rostislav Klesla with the fourth overall pick.

Defenseman Lyle Odelein was named the team’s first captain.

Regular season

On October 7, 2000, Columbus would play in their first game ever, losing 5–3 to the Chicago Blackhawks at Nationwide Arena. Bruce Gardiner scored the first goal in franchise history. On October 14, the Blue Jackets became part of hockey history. In a loss against the Colorado Avalanche, goaltender Patrick Roy tied Terry Sawchuk for most career wins by a goaltender. The Blue Jackets would win their first ever game on October 12, defeating the Calgary Flames 3–2 at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Columbus would win its first home game on October 27, defeating the visiting Washington Capitals 3–1.

The Blue Jackets, like most expansion teams, would struggle throughout the season, and would finish the year 11 games under .500, with a 28–39–9–6 record, earning 71 points, 19 points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Geoff Sanderson would lead the Jackets with 30 goals and 56 points, while Espen Knutsen would lead Columbus with 44 assists. Steve Heinze was having a solid season, scoring 22 goals and 42 points, before being dealt to the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline. Jamie Heward led the blue line, scoring 11 goals and 27 points, while Deron Quint would score 7 goals and 23 points. Tyler Wright led the club with 140 penalty minutes.

Ron Tugnutt would get the majority of action in the Blue Jackets net, playing in 53 games, and tying a career high with 22 wins. Tugnutt would record a 2.44 goals against average (GAA), .917 save percentage and four shutouts. Marc Denis backed up Tugnutt, winning six games and recording a 3.25 GAA.

Season standings

Schedule and results

|- | 1 || October 7 || Chicago Blackhawks || 5–3 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 0–1–0–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 9 || Los Angeles Kings || 7–1 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 0–2–0–0 || 0 || |- | 3 || October 12 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 3–2 || Calgary Flames || 1–2–0–0 || 2 || |- | 4 || October 14 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 1–3 || Colorado Avalanche || 1–3–0–0 || 2 || |- | 5 || October 15 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 1–2 || Chicago Blackhawks || 1–4–0–0 || 2 || |- | 6 || October 18 || Colorado Avalanche || 5–1 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 1–5–0–0 || 2 || |- | 7 || October 21 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 2–5 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–6–0–0 || 2 || |- | 8 || October 22 || Detroit Red Wings || 2–1 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 1–6–0–1 || 3 || |- | 9 || October 25 || San Jose Sharks || 3–1 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 1–7–0–1 || 3 || |- |10 || October 27 || Washington Capitals || 1–3 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 2–7–0–1 || 5 || |- |11 || October 28 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 1–4 || Detroit Red Wings || 2–8–0–1 || 5 || |- |12 || October 31 || Los Angeles Kings || 1–4 || Columbus Blue Jackets || 3–8–0–1 || 7 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.*

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

The Blue Jackets were involved in the following transactions through June 9, 2001, the day of the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

NHL expansion draft

Columbus' expansion draft picks at the 2000 NHL expansion draft.

NHL entry draft

Columbus' draft picks at the 2000 NHL entry draft.

Notes

References

• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007

References

1. (February 12, 1998). "MacLean Joins Blue Jackets".
2. (July 5, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS ANNOUNCE HEAD COACH".
3. (October 5, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS NAME LYLE ODELEIN TEAM'S FIRST-EVER CAPTAIN".
4. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.444 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
5. "2000-01 Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule".
6. (December 11, 2000). "Denis named NHL Player of Week".
7. (March 19, 2001). "Tugnutt named NHL player of week".
8. Columbus Blue Jackets 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.301
9. "2000-01 NHL Debuts".
10. "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
11. (May 11, 2000). "Blue Jackets Make First Trade in Club's Young History".
12. (May 25, 2000). "Blue Jackets Acquire Espen Knutsen From Anaheim".
13. (June 7, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS ACQUIRE GOALIE MARC DENIS FROM AVALANCHE".
14. (June 12, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS ACQUIRE JAN CALOUN".
15. (June 12, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS MAKE A DEAL WITH STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS".
16. (June 23, 2000). "Bruins lose Heinze and Timander to Columbus in Expansion Draft".
17. (June 24, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS ANNOUNCE PLAYER TRANSACTIONS".
18. (June 25, 2000). "FIRST-EVER NHL ENTRY DRAFT COMPLETE".
19. (August 17, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS ACQUIRES KENT MCDONELL FROM DETROIT".
20. (November 9, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS TRADE DEFENSEMAN BERT ROBERTSSON".
21. (January 15, 2001). "BLUE JACKETS TRADE LEFT WING KRZYSZTOF OLIWA TO PITTSBURGH PENGUINS FOR A THIRD ROUND PICK IN 2001 DRAFT".
22. (March 13, 2001). "BLUE JACKETS MAKE FOUR DEALS PRIOR TO TODAY’S DEADLINE".
23. (May 4, 2000). "Columbus Blue Jackets Sign First Player in Club History".
24. (May 8, 2000). "Columbus Blue Jackets Continue to Build Roster With the Addition of Forwards Jonathan Schill and Mathieu Darche".
25. (May 16, 2000). "Columbus Blue Jackets' Roster Continues to Grow".
26. (May 26, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS CLAIM DEFENSEMAN JAMIE HEWARD".
27. (May 31, 2000). "Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Boston College Standout".
28. (June 1, 2000). "Blue Jackets Sign Veteran Forward".
29. (June 5, 2000). "Blue Jackets Sign WHL Player of the Year Brad Moran".
30. (June 7, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS INK CZECH STARS DAVID VYBORNY, MARTIN SPANHEL".
31. (July 4, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS LAND FREE AGENT GOALTENDER RON TUGNUTT".
32. (July 7, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS SIGN NHL VETERAN".
33. (July 20, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS SIGN CENTER SERGE AUBIN".
34. (August 3, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS ROSTER GROWS BY THREE".
35. (August 8, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS ADD FREE AGENT AND SIGN EXPANSION DRAFT PICK".
36. (August 24, 2000). "COLUMBUS ADDS THREE TO ROSTER AS TRAINING CAMP NEARS".
37. (September 25, 2000). "TRANSACTIONS".
38. (October 10, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS SIGN LEFT WING STEVE MALTAIS".
39. (November 22, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS SIGN RIGHT WING ALEX SELIVANOV".
40. (February 1, 2001). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS SIGN RUGGED WINGER JODY SHELLEY".
41. (May 7, 2001). "BLUE JACKETS SIGN PAIR OF COLLEGIATE STANDOUTS".
42. (May 18, 2001). "BLUE JACKETS CLAIM FORWARD SEAN PRONGER OFF WAIVERS".
43. (May 26, 2001). "Blue Jackets give Harkins another shot on ice".
44. (February 1, 2002). "Jeff Ware Announces Retirement".
45. (July 1, 2000). "2000 NHL Free Agents".
46. (July 1, 2000). "Blues sign Dallas Drake - UPI Archives".
47. (July 13, 2000). "ACTIVITY".
48. (July 14, 2000). "Blues sign Reirden, Roloson - UPI Archives".
49. (August 14, 2000). "PLUS: HOCKEY -- LOS ANGELES; Schneider Signed".
50. (September 12, 2000). "Moore strengthens Moose left side". Winnipeg Sun.
51. (November 28, 2000). "Jan Caloun palaa".
52. (May 16, 2001). "16. Mai 2001: Frederic Chabot neuer Torhüter der Ice Tigers".
53. (June 2, 2001). "TRANSACTIONS".
54. (June 1, 2001). "01. Juni 2001: Kevin Dahl komplettiert die Mannschaft der Nürnberg Ice Tigers".
55. (June 29, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS SIGN VETERAN DEFENSEMAN LYLE ODELEIN".
56. (July 25, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS AGREE TO TERMS WITH CALOUN, NUMMELIN".
57. "2000 Free Agents List".
58. (August 31, 2000). "COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS, GOALIE MARC DENIS AGREE TO TERMS".
59. (October 2, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS SIGN FIRST-EVER DRAFT PICK ROSTISLAV KLESLA".
60. (March 15, 2001). "TRANSACTIONS".
61. (June 24, 2000). "BLUE JACKETS SELECT 26 PLAYERS IN 2000 EXPANSION DRAFT".
62. "2000 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".