# 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season

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

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

Rookie goaltender Steve Mason, who missed the first month of the season following knee surgery, 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. He again won Rookie of the Month honors in December, and was named to the YoungStars team at the 2009 All-Star Game in Montreal, though he declined to play after suffering back spasms. 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. 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.

### Divisional standings

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

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
### Regular season

2008–09 Game Log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## 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
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Rick Nash | 78 | 40 | 39 | 79 | +11 | 52 |
| Kristian Huselius | 74 | 21 | 35 | 56 | +1 | 44 |
| R. J. Umberger | 82 | 26 | 20 | 46 | -10 | 53 |
| Jakub Voráček | 80 | 9 | 29 | 38 | +11 | 44 |
| Manny Malhotra | 77 | 11 | 24 | 35 | +9 | 28 |
| Fedor Tyutin | 82 | 9 | 25 | 34 | +1 | 81 |
| Jason Williams$^†$ | 39 | 12 | 17 | 29 | +5 | 16 |
| Fredrik Modin | 50 | 9 | 16 | 25 | +2 | 28 |
| Derick Brassard | 31 | 10 | 15 | 25 | +12 | 17 |
| Mike Commodore | 81 | 5 | 19 | 24 | +11 | 100 |
| Michael Peca | 71 | 4 | 18 | 22 | -6 | 58 |
| Jason Chimera | 49 | 8 | 14 | 22 | +8 | 41 |
| Kris Russell | 66 | 2 | 19 | 21 | -10 | 28 |
| Jan Hejda | 82 | 3 | 18 | 21 | +23 | 38 |
| Raffi Torres | 51 | 12 | 8 | 20 | -4 | 23 |
| Marc Methot | 66 | 4 | 13 | 17 | +7 | 55 |
| Jared Boll | 75 | 4 | 10 | 14 | -6 | 180 |
| Antoine Vermette$^†$ | 17 | 7 | 6 | 13 | +5 | 8 |
| Andrew Murray | 67 | 8 | 3 | 11 | -6 | 10 |
| Rostislav Klesla | 34 | 1 | 8 | 9 | +2 | 38 |
| Christian Backman | 56 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +5 | 32 |
| Jiri Novotny | 42 | 4 | 3 | 7 | +4 | 14 |
| Derek Dorsett | 52 | 4 | 1 | 5 | -1 | 150 |
| Nikita Filatov | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | +3 | 0 |
| Craig MacDonald | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 0 |
| Chris Gratton$^†$ | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 |
| Aaron Rome | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Ole-Kristian Tollefsen | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 37 |
| Alexandre Picard | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 26 |
| Clay Wilson$^‡$ | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Mike York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek MacKenzie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 |
| Maxim Mayorov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Rick Nash | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 2 |
| R. J. Umberger | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Kristian Huselius | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 4 |
| Raffi Torres | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 2 |
| Kris Russell | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rostislav Klesla | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fredrik Modin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Jason Williams | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
| Jason Chimera | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Aaron Rome | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 |
| Jakub Voráček | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Manny Malhotra | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Michael Peca | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 |
| Mike Commodore | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 18 |
| Antoine Vermette | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 10 |
| Fedor Tyutin | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Methot | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 |
| Jan Hejda | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 |
| Jared Boll | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Derek Dorsett | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

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
### Awards

Steve Mason - Calder Memorial Trophy
Rick Nash – NHL Foundation Player Award

### Records

| 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

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
### Trades

| 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

| 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

| 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

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. 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. Filatov made his NHL debut on October 17, scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators.
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nat | Pos | Team (league) | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics |
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nat | Pos | Team (league) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1 | 6 | Nikita Filatov | Russia | LW | CSKA Moscow (RSL) | Made debut in 2008–09 | Made debut in 2008–09 | Made debut in 2008–09 | Made debut in 2008–09 | 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) | | | | | |