# 2004–05 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2004–05 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The 2004–05 NHL lockout, however, cancelled the entirety of the season.

## Syracuse Crunch

A number of players from the Blue Jackets played the year with the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch finished the season in fifth place in the seven-team North Division with a 36–33–4–7 record, earning 83 points. However, they failed to qualify for the 2005 Calder Cup playoffs

## Europe

While some Blue Jackets joined the Crunch during the lockout, others crossed the Atlantic and played hockey in Europe. Reigning joint-Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner Rick Nash played for HC Davos in the National League A (NLA) in Switzerland, while David Vyborny returned to his native Czech Republic to play with Sparta Prague. Meanwhile, Nikolai Zherdev returned to Russia to play for former club CSKA Moscow.

## Schedule

The Blue Jackets preseason and regular season schedules were announced on July 13 and July 14, 2004, respectively.
2004–05 schedule :
Preseason
GameDateOpponent
1September 24Buffalo Sabres
2September 26@ Chicago Blackhawks
3September 29Chicago Blackhawks
4October 1Nashville Predators
5October 2@ Nashville Predators
6October 6New York Rangers
7October 8Pittsburgh Penguins
8October 9@ Pittsburgh Penguins :
Regular season
GameDateOpponent
1October 15Buffalo Sabres
2October 16@ Chicago Blackhawks
3October 19San Jose Sharks
4October 21Colorado Avalanche
5October 23@ Calgary Flames
6October 24@ Vancouver Canucks
7October 26@ Edmonton Oilers
8October 28@ Phoenix Coyotes
9October 30@ Dallas Stars
10November 1@ St. Louis Blues
11November 5Detroit Red Wings
12November 7Dallas Stars
13November 9Edmonton Oilers
14November 12Los Angeles Kings
15November 13@ Detroit Red Wings
16November 18Phoenix Coyotes
17November 20@ Dallas Stars
18November 22@ Colorado Avalanche
19November 24Dallas Stars
20November 26St. Louis Blues
21December 1@ Detroit Red Wings
22December 3@ Calgary Flames
23December 5@ Edmonton Oilers
24December 6@ Vancouver Canucks
25December 9Toronto Maple Leafs
26December 11@ St. Louis Blues
27December 12Vancouver Canucks
28December 15Minnesota Wild
29December 17Phoenix Coyotes
30December 19Tampa Bay Lightning
31December 23Chicago Blackhawks
32December 26Pittsburgh Penguins
33December 28Anaheim Mighty Ducks
34December 29@ Atlanta Thrashers
35December 31St. Louis Blues
36January 2@ Minnesota Wild
37January 6@ New York Rangers
38January 7@ Carolina Hurricanes
39January 9Calgary Flames
40January 12Chicago Blackhawks
41January 14Colorado Avalanche
42January 15@ Nashville Predators
43January 17@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks
44January 20@ San Jose Sharks
45January 22@ Los Angeles Kings
46January 24Minnesota Wild
47January 26Montreal Canadiens
48January 28@ Chicago Blackhawks
49January 30Anaheim Mighty Ducks
50February 1@ St. Louis Blues
51February 2@ Pittsburgh Penguins
52February 5@ New York Islanders
53February 8San Jose Sharks
54February 10Nashville Predators
55February 15Edmonton Oilers
56February 17New York Rangers
57February 20@ Chicago Blackhawks
58February 23Nashville Predators
59February 25Chicago Blackhawks
60February 26Florida Panthers
61February 28@ New Jersey Devils
62March 4Nashville Predators
63March 5St. Louis Blues
64March 7@ Boston Bruins
65March 9Los Angeles Kings
66March 11Detroit Red Wings
67March 12@ Minnesota Wild
68March 14@ Nashville Predators
69March 16@ Washington Capitals
70March 18Vancouver Canucks
71March 21@ Philadelphia Flyers
72March 23Boston Bruins
73March 25@ Colorado Avalanche
74March 26@ San Jose Sharks
75March 28@ Phoenix Coyotes
76March 30Calgary Flames
77April 1@ Detroit Red Wings
78April 2Ottawa Senators
79April 5@ Nashville Predators
80April 6Detroit Red Wings
81April 9@ Los Angeles Kings
82April 10@ Anaheim Mighty Ducks :

## Transactions

The Blue Jackets were involved in the following transactions from June 8, 2004, the day after the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, through February 16, 2005, the day the 2004–05 season was officially cancelled.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 16, 2004 (2004-06-16) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Arturs Irbe | To Carolina Hurricanes Future considerations |
| June 26, 2004 (2004-06-26) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick in 20042nd-round pick in 2004 | To Carolina Hurricanes 1st-round pick in 2004 |
| June 26, 2004 (2004-06-26) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 2nd-round pick in 2004 | To Calgary Flames 3rd-round pick in 20043rd-round pick in 2004 |
| June 27, 2004 (2004-06-27) | To Columbus Blue Jackets 9th-round pick in 2004 | To Los Angeles Kings 8th-round pick in 2005 |
| July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06) | To Columbus Blue Jackets Radoslav Suchy6th-round pick in 2005 | To Phoenix Coyotes 4th-round pick in 2005 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| June 28, 2004 (2004-06-28) | Geoff Sanderson | Vancouver Canucks | Waivers |
| July 8, 2004 (2004-07-08) | Andre Lakos | Vienna Capitals (EBEL) | Free agency |
| July 8, 2004 (2004-07-08) | Matthias Trattnig | Kassel Huskies (DEL) | Free agency |
| September 7, 2004 (2004-09-07) | Jeff Panzer | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |
| September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14) | Francois Beauchemin | Montreal Canadiens | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 19, 2004 (2004-06-19) | Fred Brathwaite | Ak Bars Kazan (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| July 1, 2004 (2004-07-01) | Brian Holzinger | | Contract expiration (III) |
| July 2, 2004 (2004-07-02) | Donald MacLean | Espoo Blues (Liiga) | Free agency (VI) |
| July 29, 2004 (2004-07-29) | David Ling | St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 15, 2004 (2004-09-15) | Anders Eriksson | Calgary Flames | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 15, 2004 (2004-09-15) | Tyler Sloan | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 15, 2004 (2004-10-15) | Brendan Buckley | Worcester IceCats (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 10, 2004 (2004-06-10) | Rostislav Klesla | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 28, 2004 (2004-06-28) | Karl Goehring | | Option exercised |
| June 30, 2004 (2004-06-30) | Tyler Kolarik | | Entry-level |
| June 30, 2004 (2004-06-30) | Kent McDonell | 1-year | Option exercised |
| June 30, 2004 (2004-06-30) | Raffaele Sannitz | | Entry-level |
| July 8, 2004 (2004-07-08) | Mark Hartigan | | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2004 (2004-07-22) | Darrel Scoville | 1-year | Option exercised |
| August 26, 2004 (2004-08-26) | Mike Pandolfo | | Re-signing |
| August 31, 2004 (2004-08-31) | Brad Moran | | Re-signing |
| September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14) | Marc Denis | multi-year | Re-signing |
| September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14) | David Vyborny | multi-year | Re-signing |

## Draft picks

Columbus' draft picks at the 2004 NHL entry draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 8 | Alexandre Picard | Canada | Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 46 | Adam Pineault | United States | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 59 | Kyle Wharton | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 3 | 93 | Dan LaCosta | Canada | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) |
| 3 | 96 | Andrei Plekhanov | Russia | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Russia) |
| 5 | 133 | Petr Pohl | Czech Republic | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 167 | Robert Page | United States | The Blake School (USHS–MN) |
| 6 | 190 | Lennart Petrell | Finland | HIFK (Finland) |
| 7 | 198 | Justin Vienneau | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 231 | Brian McGuirk | United States | Governor Dummer Academy (USHS–MA) |
| 8 | 233 | Matt Greer | United States | White Bear Lake Area High School (USHS–MN) |
| 9 | 271 | Grant Clitsome | Canada | Nepean Raiders (CJAHL) |