The Blue Jackets

Lore & Background

The franchise struggled in their initial years, failing to win 30 games in a season until 2005–06. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 2009, but were swept by the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the first round. Columbus did not win a playoff game until the 2014 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and won their first playoff series in 2019 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, sweeping the Presidents' Trophy winners 4-0. Along with the Seattle Kraken (started play in 2021) and Utah Hockey Club (started play in 2024), the Blue Jackets are one of only three teams in the league who have yet to appear in the conference finals.

In Their Own Story

The bus pulls into the lot at 6:47 p.m. and the doors swing open like a floodgate. Two thousand people spill onto the wet concrete, breath fogging in the November air, scarves already knotted tight around their necks. A kid in a size-too-big Nash jersey clutches a foam finger the color of the sky. Somewhere in the crowd, a woman is singing the old 'Jackets' chant her father taught her in the first season, back when the arena still had the old name and the seats were brand-new and everything felt like a dare.

They push through the turnstiles. The smell hits first—cold air, hot pretzels, the faint metallic tang of the ice resurfacing. The Zamboni's blue line traces a slow arc under the lights, and the crowd hums like a single throat. A stick taps the boards. A puck skids. And for two hours, Columbus forgets it is winter, forgets the traffic on the river roads, forgets everything except the crack of blade on rubber and the blue-and-red tide rising in the stands.

Reader's Guide

The Blue Jackets' name and logos are inspired by Ohio's Civil War history. They play their home games at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, which opened in 2000. They are affiliated with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The franchise selected Rostislav Klesla fourth overall in the 2000 NHL entry draft and Rick Nash first overall in the 2002 NHL entry draft.

Did You Know?

• The Blue Jackets replaced the Columbus Chill of the ECHL, who played in the city from 1991 to 1999.
• The team name was chosen from a 'Name the Team' contest, with the final two options being Blue Jackets and Justice.
• In March 2002, 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil was killed after a deflected puck struck her in the head, leading to nylon mesh nets being installed behind goals in all NHL arenas.
• Rick Nash tied for the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy in 2003–04 with 41 goals.