2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the sixth National Hockey League season in Columbus, Ohio.
The offseason was dominated by a contract dispute with top forward Nikolai Zherdev, who had threatened to return to Russia to play if Columbus did not meet his demands. Zherdev remained a hold out for much of the pre-season, however the two parties were able to come to an agreement about a week before the season began.Blue Jackets re-sign right wing Zherdev, espn.com, September 28, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006
The Jackets, hoping to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, got off to a disastrous start, falling as low as 6–16–2 into December, briefly holding the worst record in the league. The Jackets poor start led General Manager Doug MacLean to fire head coach Gerard Gallant on November 13.Blue Jackets fire Gerard Gallant, tsn.ca, November 13, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006. Gallant would be replaced a week later by veteran coach Ken Hitchcock.Blue Jackets hire Hitchcock as coach, tsn.ca, November 22, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006. Coincidentally, Hitchcock's first game as Jackets head coach would be against the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that fired him as head coach earlier in the season. 
The Blue Jackets once again failed to qualify for the post-season. As the Atlanta Thrashers qualified for the playoffs in the East, the Blue Jackets were, until the 2008-09 season, the only NHL team to have never played a post-season game.
==Regular season==
===Season standings===
Final regular season standings for the 2006–07 NHL season
===Game log===
====October====
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 6 	Vancouver 	3 – 2	Columbus 	OT	Leclaire	18,136 	0–0–1 	1
2	October 7 	Columbus 	5 – 4	Chicago 	 	Leclaire	17,133 	1–0–1 	3
3	October 9 	Phoenix 	1 – 5	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,298 	2–0–1 	5
4	October 14	Columbus 	0 – 5	Minnesota 	 	Leclaire	18,568 	2–1–1 	5
5	October 20	Toronto 	4 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	17,303 	2–2–1 	5
6	October 21	Columbus 	3 – 5	Pittsburgh	 	Norrena 	14,637 	2–3–1 	5
7	October 23	San Jose 	3 – 0	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,067 	2–4–1 	5
8	October 27	Los Angeles	0 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,087 	3–4–1 	7
9	October 28	Columbus 	0 – 1	New Jersey	 	Leclaire	14,015 	3–5–1 	7
====November====
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
10	November 1 	Colorado 	5 – 3	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,007 	3–6–1 	7
11	November 3 	Calgary 	4 – 5	Columbus 	SO	Leclaire	16,103 	4–6–1 	9
12	November 4 	Columbus 	1 – 4	Detroit 	 	Leclaire	20,066 	4–7–1 	9
13	November 9 	Columbus 	4 – 2	St. Louis 	 	Leclaire	9,631 	5–7–1 	11
14	November 10	Edmonton 	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,902 	5–8–1 	11
15	November 12	Columbus 	0 – 2	Chicago 	 	Norrena 	14,078 	5–9–1 	11
16	November 15	Nashville	5 – 4	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,283 	5–10–1	11
17	November 17	Colorado 	3 – 0	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	16,375 	5–11–1	11
18	November 18	Columbus 	2 – 4	Nashville 	 	Leclaire	13,209 	5–12–1	11
19	November 20	Nashville	3 – 1	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	16,174 	5–13–1	11
20	November 22	St. Louis	4 – 3	Columbus 	SO	Leclaire	15,279 	5–13–2	12
21	November 24	Columbus 	2 – 3	Philadelphia	 	Leclaire	19,301 	5–14–2	12
22	November 25	Minnesota	3 – 5	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,493 	6–13–2	14
23	November 28	Columbus 	0 – 1	Vancouver 	 	Leclaire	18,630 	6–14–2	14
====December====
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
24	December 1 	Columbus 	1 – 2	Calgary 	 	Leclaire	19,289 	6–16–2 	14
25	December 2 	Columbus 	4 – 0	Edmonton 	 	Norrena 	16,839 	7–16–2 	16
26	December 5 	Columbus 	3 – 0	Colorado 	 	Norrena 	17,339 	8–16–2 	18
27	December 9 	Columbus 	5 – 1	St. Louis 	 	Norrena 	11,831 	9–16–2 	20
28	December 10	Ottawa 	2 – 6	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	15,797 	10–16–2	22
29	December 12	Columbus 	3 – 1	Dallas 	 	Norrena 	17,411 	11–16–2	24
30	December 14	Columbus 	4 – 5	Phoenix 	SO	Norrena 	11,301 	11–16–3	25
31	December 16	Chicago 	6 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	17,288 	11–17–3	25
32	December 18	Detroit 	3 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	17,046 	12–17–3	27
33	December 20	Columbus 	0 – 5	Detroit 	 	Norrena 	20,066 	12–18–3	27
34	December 22	Vancouver	2 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,861 	13–18–3	29
35	December 23	Columbus 	0 – 4	NY Islanders	 	Norrena 	11,797 	13–19–3	29
36	December 26	Boston 	4 – 5	Columbus 	OT	Norrena 	17,376 	14–19–3	31
37	December 28	Detroit 	7 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	17,408 	14–20–3	31
38	December 29	Columbus 	3 – 4	Minnesota 	OT	Conklin 	18,568 	14–20–4	32
39	December 31	Chicago 	1 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	18,136 	15–20–4	34
====January====
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
40	January 3 	Columbus 	0 – 3	Los Angeles	 	Norrena 	16,451 	15–21–4	34
41	January 5 	Columbus 	4 – 3	Anaheim 	 	Norrena 	17,405 	16–21–4	36
42	January 6 	Columbus 	2 – 5	San Jose 	 	Norrena 	17,496 	16–22–4	36
43	January 9 	St. Louis	4 – 3	Columbus 	SO	Norrena 	15,238 	16–22–5	37
44	January 12	Columbus 	0 – 2	Nashville 	 	Norrena 	14,136 	16–23–5	37
45	January 13	Nashville	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	16,825 	16–24–5	37
46	January 16	Columbus 	5 – 4	Chicago 	OT	Conklin 	10,263 	17–24–5	39
47	January 18	Columbus 	0 – 4	Nashville 	 	Conklin 	10,927 	17–25–5	39
48	January 19	Detroit 	1 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	18,136 	18–25–5	41
49	January 26	Buffalo 	2 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	18,136 	19–25–5	43
50	January 27	Minnesota	2 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	18,136 	20–25–5	45
51	January 30	Columbus 	3 – 2	Vancouver 	SO	Conklin 	18,630 	21–25–5	47
52	January 31	Columbus 	2 – 5	Edmonton 	 	Conklin 	16,839 	21–26–5	47
====February====
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
53	February 2 	Columbus 	2 – 6	Calgary 	 	Conklin 	19,289 	21–27–5	47
54	February 6 	Phoenix 	3 – 0	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	13,825 	21–28–5	47
55	February 8 	Calgary 	1 – 2	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,739 	22–28–5	49
56	February 11	Chicago 	5 – 4	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	17,054 	22–29–5	49
57	February 14	St. Louis	4 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	14,295 	22–30–5	49
58	February 16	San Jose 	0 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	16,045 	23–30–5	51
59	February 18	Montreal 	3 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,116 	23–31–5	51
60	February 20	Columbus 	4 – 5	St. Louis 	SO	Norrena 	11,104 	23–31–6	52
61	February 22	Edmonton 	4 – 0	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,541 	23–32–6	52
62	February 24	Columbus 	3 – 2	New York Rangers	 	Norrena 	18,200 	24–32–6	54
63	February 25	Nashville	4 – 3	Columbus 	SO	Conklin 	16,220 	24–32–7	55
64	February 27	Columbus 	2 – 3	Colorado 	 	Norrena 	17,127 	24–33–7	55
====March====
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
65	March 2 	Columbus 	3 – 2	Dallas 	SO	Norrena 	17,147 	25–33–7	57
66	March 3 	Columbus 	4 – 3	Phoenix 	 	Boucher 	16,207 	26–33–7	59
67	March 7 	Los Angeles	2 – 3	Columbus 	OT	Norrena 	15,154 	27–33–7	61
68	March 9 	Dallas 	3 – 0	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	17,284 	27–34–7	61
69	March 10	Columbus 	1 – 2	Nashville 	 	Norrena 	17,113 	27–35–7	61
70	March 14	Columbus 	5 – 4	Anaheim 	SO	Norrena 	17,174 	28–35–7	63
71	March 16	Columbus 	0 – 3	San Jose 	 	Norrena 	17,496 	28–36–7	63
72	March 17	Columbus 	3 – 5	Los Angeles	 	Norrena 	17,197 	28–37–7	63
73	March 20	Chicago 	2 – 5	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,195 	29–37–7	65
74	March 22	Columbus 	2 – 1	Detroit 	SO	Norrena 	20,066 	30–37–7	67
75	March 25	St. Louis 	1 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	16,007 	31–37–7	69
76	March 27	Columbus 	4 – 1	St. Louis 	 	Norrena 	17,251 	32–37–7	71
77	March 29	Anaheim 	5 – 2	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,340 	32–38–7	71
78	March 30	Columbus 	1 – 3	Chicago 	 	Boucher 	14,111 	32–39–7	71
====April====
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
79	April 1	Detroit 	4 – 1	Columbus	 	Norrena 	17,350 	32–40–7	71
80	April 3	Columbus	0 – 3	Detroit 	 	Norrena 	20,066 	32–41–7	71
81	April 5	Dallas 	1 – 2	Columbus	OT	Norrena 	15,997 	33–41–7	73
82	April 7	Anaheim 	4 – 3	Columbus	 	Norrena 	17,391 	33–42–7	73
*Green background indicates win. 
*Red background indicates regulation loss. 
*White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.
==Playoffs==
The Blue Jackets failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Columbus is the only current NHL team to have yet to qualify, but since they have only been in existence for six seasons, this is not considered anything outstanding.
==Player stats ==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	82	16	48	64 	60 	6 	6 	0 	2
 	LW 	75	27	30	57 	73 	-8 	9 	1 	5
 	LW 	79	22	20	42 	50 	-3 	6 	0 	4
 	C 	73	18	24	42 	56 	-7 	7 	2 	2
 	LW 	82	15	21	36 	91 	2 	2 	2 	2
 	D 	80	9 	25	34 	69 	-19	7 	0 	0
 	W 	71	10	22	32 	26 	-19	3 	0 	2
 	C 	59	12	15	27 	35 	3 	5 	1 	4
 	RW 	54	10	17	27 	16 	-1 	3 	0 	1
 	C 	82	9 	16	25 	76 	-8 	2 	0 	3
 	D 	79	0 	23	23 	46 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	75	9 	13	22 	105	-13	2 	0 	0
 	C 	78	9 	10	19 	28 	-21	3 	0 	0
 	C 	76	7 	11	18 	145	-10	1 	0 	2
 	D 	59	3 	9 	12 	71 	-17	2 	0 	0
 	D 	23	4 	6 	10 	18 	-13	2 	0 	1
 	D 	61	3 	7 	10 	38 	-9 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	26	4 	5 	9 	10 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	70	2 	3 	5 	123	2 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	20	0 	4 	4 	12 	5 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	1 	2 	3 	2 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	11	0 	3 	3 	8 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	9 	2 	0 	2 	0 	-1 	2 	0 	0
 	RW 	8 	1 	1 	2 	4 	-3 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	72	1 	1 	2 	125	-6 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	9 	1 	0 	1 	4 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	7 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	23	0 	1 	1 	6 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	11	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	7 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	7 	0 	0 	0 	10 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	6 	0 	0 	0 	20 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	24	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	55	0 	0 	0 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0 	0 	0 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T/OT	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2952	55	24	23	3 	137	2.78	3 	1420	1283	.904
 	1315	24	6 	15	2 	65 	2.97	1 	629 	564 	.897
 	491 	11	2 	3 	2 	27 	3.30	0 	210 	183 	.871
 	142 	3 	1 	1 	0 	9 	3.80	0 	67 	58 	.866
 	45 	2 	0 	0 	0 	1 	1.33	0 	14 	13 	.929
Team: 	4945	82	33	42	7 	239	2.90	4 	2340	2101	.898
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Transactions==
The Blue Jackets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2006–07 season.NHL Insider - Offseason Trades, nhl.com, accessed December 2, 2006NHL Insider - Free Agent Signings, nhl.com, accessed December 2, 2006,
===Trades===
June 30, 2006 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Fredrik Modin Fredrik Norrena 	To Tampa Bay Lightning Marc Denis
October 25, 2006 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ryan Caldwell 	To New York Islanders Eric Boguniecki
November 29, 2006	To Columbus Blue Jackets Derrick Walser 	To Carolina Hurricanes Mark Flood
January 26, 2007 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Zenon KonopkaCurtis GlencrossConditional 7th round pick in 2007 or 2008	To Anaheim Ducks Joe MotzkoMark Hartigan4th round pick in 2007
February 23, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets5th round pick in 2008 	To Carolina HurricanesAnson Carter
February 27, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets5th round pick in 2007 	To Buffalo SabresTy Conklin
===Free agents acquired===
Player signed 	Former team
D Tomas Kloucek 	Atlanta Thrashers
G Ty Conklin 	Edmonton Oilers
D Filip Novak 	Ottawa Senators
F Eric Boguniecki	Pittsburgh Penguins
F Anson Carter 	Vancouver Canucks
===Free agents lost===
Player lost 	New team
D Andy Delmore 	Tampa Bay Lightning
F Trevor Letowski	Carolina Hurricanes
G Andrew Penner 	Pittsburgh Penguins
===Claimed off waivers===
Player received	Team
G Brian Boucher	Chicago Blackhawks
==Draft picks==
Columbus' picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com - accessed November 20, 2006 The Blue Jackets picked 6th overall.
Round	# 	Player 	Nationality	NHL Team 	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	6 	Derick Brassard (C)	 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
3 	69 	Steve Mason (G) 	 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	London Knights (OHL)
3 	85 	Tommy Sestito (LW) 	 	Columbus Blue Jackets (from San Jose via Philadelphia)	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
4 	113	Ben Wright (D) 	 	Columbus Blue Jackets (from San Jose) 	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
5 	129	Robert Nyholm (RW) 	 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	IFK Jr.
5 	136	Nick Sucharski (LW)	 	Columbus Blue Jackets (from Toronto) 	Michigan State University (NCAA)
5 	142	Maxim Frechette (D)	 	Columbus Blue Jackets (from Anaheim) 	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
6 	159	Jesse Dudas (D) 	 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
7 	189	Derek Dorsett (RW) 	 	Columbus Blue Jackets 	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7 	194	Matt Marquardt (LW)	 	Columbus Blue Jackets (from Los Angeles) 	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
==Farm teams==
===Syracuse Crunch===
The Syracuse Crunch are the Blue Jackets American Hockey League affiliate for the seventh season. Prior to the start of the 2006–07 season, the two clubs announced they had agreed to extend the affiliation agreement for four more years.Syracuse Crunch and Columbus Blue Jackets extend affiliation agreement, Syracuse Crunch press release, July 31, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006
===Dayton Bombers===
The Dayton Bombers of the ECHL are also entering their seventh season as an affiliate of the Blue Jackets.
===Youngstown SteelHounds===
The Jackets are also affiliated with the Youngstown SteelHounds of the Central Hockey League.
==See also==
*2006–07 NHL season
==References==
*Player stats: Columbus Blue Jackets player stats on espn.com
*Game log: Columbus Blue Jackets game log on espn.com
*Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com
 
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Category:Columbus Blue Jackets seasons
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