2008 – 09 Columbus Blue Jackets season The 2008 – 09 Columbus Blue Jackets season is the 9th 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 important preseason trades , trading a draft pick to Philadelphia for R . J . Umberger , and trading stars Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers in exchange for much - needed 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 57th National Hockey League 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 Ottawa for forward Antoine Vermette . Vermette made an instant impact with the club , racking up seven points in his first six games . Playoffs . The Blue Jackets have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / − = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " 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 Draft picks . The Blue Jackets entered the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa with the 6th 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 . Roster . < br > Farm teams . Johnstown Chiefs . GM Scott Howson announced on August 22 , 2008 that the Blue Jackets reached an agreement with the Johnstown Chiefs to serve as the club ' s ECHL affiliate for the 2008 - 09 season , replacing the Elmira Jackals .