2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season began October 5, 2007. It was the Blue Jackets' 7th season in the National Hockey League.
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
*The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place in Columbus, Ohio on June 22–23
*The free agency period began on July 1.
*The Blue Jackets played 8 preseason games starting September 16. 
The Blue Jackets attempted to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Scott Howson was hired prior to the 2007 NHL Entry Draft as the second General Manager in team history, replacing Doug MacLean.Columbus hires Howson as new GM, tsn.ca, June 13, 2007 The Blue Jackets finished with a 34–36–12 record, earning 80 points and missing the playoffs. The Blue Jackets finished 4th in the Central Division, finishing above the St. Louis Blues and 13th in the Western Conference. On March 16, 2008, Columbus set a franchise record for points in a season, 75, with a 4–3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets started off the season well with a 7–3–1 record in October, but falling behind in the Western Conference in November with a 4–7–3 record. During the All-star break, Rick Nash was selected to participate in the 2008 All-Star Game for the Western Conference. He scored a record-breaking goal just 12 seconds into the period. Nash scored a total of 3 goals throughout the game, yet the Eastern Conference won the game 8–7. The Blue Jackets earned average records in December through February, staying within reach of a playoff spot. On February 26, Captain Adam Foote was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for 2 draft picks. Rick Nash was named the new captain of the team. In March, the Blue Jackets' chances of playing in the post-season were fading away after a 4–6–3 record due to the injury of starting goaltender, Pascal LeClaire. After being mathematically eliminated from making the playoffs, the Blue Jackets lost their last three games of the season.
==Regular season==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
===Game log===
====October====
Record: 7–3–1; Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–0
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Points
1 	October 5 	Anaheim 	0 – 4	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	17,852 	1–0–0 	2
2 	October 6 	Columbus 	2 – 3	Minnesota 	 	Norrena 	18,568 	1–1–0 	2
3 	October 10	Phoenix 	0 – 3	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	11,944 	2–1–0 	4
4 	October 13	Columbus 	1 – 5	Colorado 	 	Leclaire	16,153 	2–2–0 	4
5 	October 17	Dallas 	3 – 2	Columbus 	SO	Norrena 	11,820 	2–2–1 	5
6 	October 19	Columbus 	3 – 0	Buffalo 	 	Leclaire	18,690 	3–2–1 	7
7 	October 21	Vancouver	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	12,667 	3–3–1 	7
8 	October 23	Columbus 	7 – 4	Chicago 	 	Norrena 	10,884 	4–3–1 	9
9 	October 25	St. Louis	0 – 3	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	12,786 	5–3–1 	11
10	October 27	San Jose 	1 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	13,234 	6–3–1 	13
11	October 31	Columbus 	4 – 1	Los Angeles	 	Leclaire	11,491 	7–3–1 	15
====November====
Record: 4–7–3; Home: 3–2–1; Road: 1–5–2
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
12	November 1 	Columbus 	1 – 2	Anaheim 	SO	Norrena 	17,174 	7–3–2 	16
13	November 4 	St. Louis	0 – 3	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	13,254 	8–3–2 	18
14	November 7 	Columbus 	2 – 5	Chicago 	 	Norrena 	9,717 	8–4–2 	18
15	November 9 	Columbus 	1 – 4	Detroit 	 	Leclaire	18,654 	8–5–2 	18
16	November 10	Columbus 	3 – 4	Nashville	SO	Norrena 	15,947 	8–5–3 	19
17	November 12	Nashville	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	12,554 	8–6–3 	19
18	November 14	Chicago 	2 – 4	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	13,622 	9–6–3 	21
19	November 16	Columbus 	2 – 3	St. Louis	 	Norrena 	19,150 	9–7–3 	21
20	November 18	Detroit 	5 – 4	Columbus 	SO	Leclaire	15,503 	9–7–4 	22
21	November 21	Florida 	5 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	13,326 	9–8–4 	22
22	November 23	Columbus 	4 – 0	Minnesota	 	Leclaire	18,568 	10–8–4 	24
23	November 24	Detroit 	2 – 3	Columbus 	SO	Leclaire	17,513 	11–8–4 	26
24	November 26	Columbus 	1 – 3	Edmonton 	 	Norrena 	16,839 	11–9–4 	26
25	November 29	Columbus 	0 – 2	Vancouver	 	Norrena 	18,630 	11–10–4	26
====December====
Record: 7–5–2; Home: 6–3–2; Road: 1–2–0
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
26	December 1 	Columbus 	4 – 3	Calgary 	OT	Norrena 	19,289 	12–10–4	28
27	December 3 	Dallas 	2 – 1	Columbus 	SO	Leclaire	12,233 	12–10–5	29
28	December 5 	Colorado 	4 – 5	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	12,851 	13–10–5	31
29	December 8 	Minnesota 	2 – 1	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	15,666 	13–11–5	31
30	December 10	Anaheim 	4 – 3	Columbus 	OT	Leclaire	11,984 	13–11–6	32
31	December 12	Colorado 	1 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	13,150 	14–11–6	34
32	December 15	Columbus 	0 – 2	Boston 	 	Norrena 	14,058 	14–12–6	34
33	December 18	Calgary 	3 – 0	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	13,181 	14–13–6	34
34	December 21	Los Angeles	1 – 2	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	14,034 	15–13–6	36
35	December 23	Nashville 	3 – 1	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,481 	15–14–6	36
36	December 26	Atlanta 	0 – 2	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	15,726 	16–14–6	38
37	December 27	Columbus 	3 – 4	Nashville	 	Norrena 	14,331 	16–15–6	38
38	December 29	Carolina 	1 – 4	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	17,453 	17–15–6	40
39	December 31	Edmonton 	2 – 4	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	16,774 	18–15–6	42
====January====
Record: 7–7–0; Home: 3–1–0; Road: 4–6–0 
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
40	January 2 	Columbus 	1 – 2	Anaheim 	 	LeClaire	17,174 	18–16–6	42
41	January 3 	Columbus 	4 – 3	Los Angeles	 	Norrena 	14,173 	19–16–6	44
42	January 5 	Columbus 	2 – 3	San Jose 	 	Norrena 	17,496 	19–17–6	44
43	January 8 	Columbus 	1 – 6	St. Louis 	 	Norrena 	14,818 	19–18–6	44
44	January 11	St. Louis	4 – 6	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	15,233 	20–18–6	46
45	January 12	Nashville	1 – 2	Columbus 	SO	LeClaire	16,230 	21–18–6	48
46	January 15	Vancouver	2 – 3	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	13,555 	22–18–6	50
47	January 17	Columbus 	4 – 3	Phoenix 	 	LeClaire	11,114 	23–18–6	52
48	January 19	Columbus 	1 – 3	Dallas 	 	Norrena 	17,811 	23–19–6	52
49	January 20	Columbus 	1 – 3	Colorado 	 	LeClaire	17,197 	23–20–6	52
50	January 22	Columbus 	4 – 2	Dallas 	 	LeClaire	17,087 	24–20–6	54
51	January 24	Columbus 	1 – 0	Chicago 	 	LeClaire	16,094 	25–20–6	56
52	January 29	Phoenix 	2 – 4	Columbus 	 	LeClaire	15,127 	25–21–6	56
53	January 31	Columbus 	2 – 4	Nashville 	 	Leclaire	13,745 	25–22–6	56
====February====
Record: 5–5–3; Home: 0–3–2; Road: 5–2–1
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
54	February 2 	Minnesota 	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	18,529 	25–23–6	56
55	February 5 	Washington 	4 – 3	Columbus 	OT	Norrena 	14,450 	25–23–7	57
56	February 7 	Columbus 	2 – 1	Phoenix 	 	Norrena 	13,918 	26–23–7	59
57	February 8 	Columbus 	1 – 2	San Jose 	OT	Norrena 	17,210 	26–23–8	60
58	February 10	Los Angeles	3 – 2	Columbus 	SO	Leclaire	15,823 	26–23–9	61
59	February 13	Chicago 	7 – 2	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	14,918 	26–24–9	61
60	February 15	Columbus 	5 – 1	Detroit 	 	Leclaire	20,066 	27–24–9	63
61	February 17	Columbus 	1 – 5	St. Louis	 	Leclaire	19,150 	27–25–9	63
62	February 19	Columbus 	1 – 3	Toronto 	 	Leclaire	19,347 	27–26–9	63
63	February 21	Columbus 	3 – 2	Ottawa 	SO	Leclaire	19,612 	28–26–9	65
64	February 23	Columbus 	3 – 0	Montreal 	 	Leclaire	21,273 	29–26–9	67
65	February 27	San Jose 	4 – 2	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	16,029 	29–27–9	67
66	February 29	Columbus 	3 – 2	Vancouver	OT	Leclaire	18,630 	30–27–9	69
====March====
Record: 4–6–3; Home: 4–3–1; Road: 0–3–2 
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
67	March 2 	Columbus 	3 – 4	Edmonton 	SO	Leclaire	16,839 	30–27–10	70
68	March 4 	Columbus 	0 – 1	Calgary 	 	Leclaire	19,289 	30–28–10	70
69	March 7 	Edmonton 	2 – 1	Columbus 	OT	Leclaire	14,933 	30–28–11	71
70	March 9 	Tampa Bay	3 – 5	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	14,796 	31–28–11	73
71	March 14	Chicago 	6 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	15,699 	31–29–11	73
72	March 16	Detroit 	3 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	18,188 	32–29–11	75
73	March 18	Calgary 	0 – 3	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	14,270 	33–29–11	77
74	March 19	Columbus 	1 – 3	Detroit 	 	Norrena 	19,061 	33–30–11	77
75	March 22	Detroit 	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	17,681 	33–31–11	77
76	March 25	Columbus 	0 – 3	Nashville	 	Norrena 	16,330 	33–32–11	77
77	March 26	Chicago 	0 – 4	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	14,454 	34–32–11	79
78	March 28	Nashville	2 – 0	Columbus 	 	Leclaire	15,595 	34–33–11	79
79	March 30	Columbus 	4 – 5	Chicago 	SO	Norrena 	20,885 	34–33–12	80
====April====
Record: 0–3–0; Home: 0–1–0; Road 0–2–0
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record 	Pts
80	April 3	Columbus 	2 – 3	Detroit 	 	Leclaire	19,435 	34–34–12	80
81	April 5	Columbus 	0 – 3	St. Louis	 	Leclaire	19,150 	34–35–12	80
82	April 6	St. Louis	4 – 1	Columbus 	 	Norrena 	17,739 	34–36–12	80
*Green background indicates win.
*Red background indicates regulation loss.
*White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.
==Playoffs==
The Blue Jackets did not qualify for the 2007–08 playoffs and remained the only NHL team to never have qualified for the playoffs.
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	LW 	80	38	31	69 	95 	2 	10 	4 	6
 	W 	82	26	35	61 	34 	-9 	7 	0 	3
 	C 	65	8 	26	34 	64 	-1 	3 	0 	3
 	D 	78	8 	24	32 	25 	-7 	8 	0 	0
 	LW 	81	14	17	31 	98 	-5 	1 	1 	3
 	C 	71	11	18	29 	34 	-3 	2 	0 	2
 	C 	50	9 	19	28 	30 	-3 	5 	0 	1
 	RW 	66	7 	19	26 	34 	-8 	2 	0 	0
 	C 	69	10	12	22 	22 	2 	1 	1 	4
 	C 	65	8 	14	22 	24 	-10	1 	0 	0
 	D 	82	6 	12	18 	60 	7 	3 	0 	1
 	D 	63	1 	14	15 	95 	3 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	81	0 	13	13 	61 	20 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	36	6 	6 	12 	25 	3 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	23	6 	6 	12 	20 	1 	2 	0 	1
 	C 	39	6 	4 	10 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	75	5 	5 	10 	226	-4 	0 	0 	3
 	D 	67	2 	8 	10 	14 	-12	1 	0 	1
 	C 	16	5 	4 	9 	2 	3 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	19	2 	7 	9 	12 	-5 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	61	1 	8 	9 	24 	-4 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	25	3 	4 	7 	14 	0 	2 	0 	1
 	D 	51	2 	2 	4 	111	-3 	0 	1 	0
 	D 	23	1 	3 	4 	30 	-10	1 	0 	0
 	C 	17	2 	0 	2 	8 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	17	1 	1 	2 	6 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	17	1 	1 	2 	33 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	7 	1 	1 	2 	2 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	54	0 	2 	2 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	37	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	3 	0 	0 	0 	15 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	9 	0 	0 	0 	8 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	17 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	31	0 	0 	0 	44 	-2 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T/OT	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2986	54	24	17	6 	112	2.25	9 	1379	1267	.919
 	1960	37	10	19	6 	89 	2.72	2 	856 	767 	.896
 	13 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0.00	0 	5 	5 	1.000
Team: 	4959	82	34	36	12 	201	2.43	11	2240	2039	.910
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; 
==Awards and records==
===Records===
===Milestones===
Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Jared BollKris Russell	1st NHL Game 	October 5, 2007 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Kris Russell 	1st NHL Assist1st NHL Point 	October 5, 2007 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Frederik Modin 	200th NHL Assist 	October 5, 2007 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Jared Boll 	1st NHL Goal1st NHL Point 	October 10, 2007 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Jason Chimera 	300th NHL Game 	October 23, 2007 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
David Vyborny 	500th NHL Game300th NHL Point	November 24, 2007	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Andrew Murray 	1st NHL Game 	December 27, 2007	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Andrew Murray 	1st NHL Goal1st NHL Point 	January 2, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Rostislav Klesla 	100th NHL Point 	January 17, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Kris Russell 	1st NHL Goal 	January 22, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Transactions==
The Blue Jackets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.
===Trades===
November 15, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets Aaron Rome Clay Wilson 	To Anaheim Ducks Geoff Platt
January 22, 2008 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Mark Rycroft 	To Colorado Avalanche Darcy Campbell Philippe Dupuis
January 29, 2008 	To Columbus Blue Jackets 6th Round Pick 2009 NHL Entry Draft 	To San Jose Sharks Jody Shelley
February 1, 2008 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Dick Tärnström 	To Edmonton Oilers Curtis Glencross
February 26, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional 1st Round Pick 2008 NHL Entry Draft or 2009 NHL Entry Draft Conditional 4th Round Pick 2009 NHL Entry Draft	To Colorado Avalanche Adam Foote
February 26, 2008	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ted Ruth 	To Washington Capitals Sergei Fedorov
===Free agents===
{|class="wikitable"	 	
Player 	Former team 	Contract Terms
Sheldon Brookbank	Nashville Predators	1 year, $500,000
Jiří Novotný 	Washington Capitals	2 years, $1.5 million
Jan Hejda 	Edmonton Oilers 	1 year, $1 million
Derek MacKenzie 	Atlanta Thrashers 	1 year, $475,000
Kris Beech 	Washington Capitals	1 year, $585,000
Michael Peca 	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $1.3 million plus incentives
==Draft picks==
Columbus' picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com The Blue Jackets picked 7th overall in front of their hometown crowd. 
Round	# 	Player 	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	7 	Jakub Voráček 	RW 	 	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2 	37 	Stefan Legein 	RW 	 	Mississauga IceDogs (OHL)
2 	53 	Will Weber 	D 	 	Gaylord High School (USHS-MI)
3 	68 	Jake Hansen 	W 	 	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
4 	94 	Maxim Mayorov 	W 	 	Leninogorsk (Russia-2)
6 	158	Allen York 	G 	 	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
7 	211	Trent Vogelhuber	RW 	 	St. Louis Bandits (NAHL)
==Farm teams==
===American Hockey League===
===Syracuse Crunch===
===East Coast Hockey League===
===Elmira Jackals===
It was announced on October 4 that the Elmira Jackals will take over as the ECHL affiliate to the Blue Jackets, replacing the Dayton Bombers.
==Roster==
						
Goaltenders
*
*
*
*
*
*GM: Scott Howson
*Coach: Ken Hitchcock		
Defensemen
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 
* - A		
Wingers
* - A
*
*
*
*
*
*
* - A
*
*
*
*
* - C		
Centers
*
*
* - A
*
*
*
*
==See also==
*2007–08 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
==External links==
*The Columbus Blue Jackets official website
Category:Columbus Blue Jackets seasons
Category:2007 in hockey
Category:2008 in hockey