2009–10 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2009–10 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the team's tenth season of play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blue Jackets were unable to qualify for the playoffs, despite qualifying the previous year.

2009–10 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	5th Central
Conference	14th Western
2009–10 record	32–35–15
Home record	20–12–9
Road record	12–23–6
Goals for	216
Goals against	259
Team information
General manager	Scott Howson
Coach	Ken Hitchcock (Oct.–Feb.) Claude Noel (Feb.–Apr.) (interim)
Captain	Rick Nash
Alternate captains	Mike Commodore Rostislav Klesla Fredrik Modin (Oct-Mar) Samuel Pahlsson (Mar.–Apr.) R. J. Umberger Antoine Vermette
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Average attendance	15,416 (84.9%) Total: 632,056
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Nash (33)
Assists	Kristian Huselius (40)
Points	Rick Nash (67)
Penalty minutes	Jared Boll (149)
Plus/minus	Derek Dorsett (+6)
Wins	Steve Mason (20)
Goals against average	Mathieu Garon (2.81)
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

Regular season

On February 3, 2010, the Jackets fired head coach Ken Hitchcock and named Claude Noel as interim head coach. ^[1]

Divisional standings

Central Division^[2]

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – Chicago Blackhawks	82	52	22	8	271	209	112
2	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	24	14	229	216	102
3	Nashville Predators	82	47	29	6	225	225	100
4	St. Louis Blues	82	40	32	10	225	223	90
5	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	32	35	15	216	259	79

Conference standings

Western Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – San Jose Sharks	PA	82	51	20	11	264	215	113
2	y – Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	52	22	8	271	209	112
3	y – Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	49	28	5	272	222	103
4	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	50	25	7	225	202	107
5	Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	44	24	14	229	216	102
6	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	46	27	9	241	219	101
7	Nashville Predators	CE	82	47	29	6	225	225	100
8	Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	43	30	9	244	233	95
8.5
9	St. Louis Blues	CE	82	40	32	10	225	223	90
10	Calgary Flames	NW	82	40	32	10	204	210	90
11	Anaheim Ducks	PA	82	39	32	11	238	251	89
12	Dallas Stars	PA	82	37	31	14	237	254	88
13	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	38	36	8	219	246	84
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	32	35	15	216	259	79
15	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	27	47	8	214	284	62

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

Schedule and results

• Green background indicates win (2 points).
• Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
• Silver background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).

Pre-season

2009 Pre-season game log: 4–3–1 (home: 3–1–0; road: 1–2–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record
1	September 15	Columbus Blue Jackets	4 - 5	Pittsburgh Penguins	OT	LaCosta	15,766	0-0-1
2	September 18	Columbus Blue Jackets	0 - 2	Minnesota Wild		Mason	18,064	0-1-1
3	September 19	Columbus Blue Jackets	2 - 3	Nashville Predators		LaCosta	10,703	0-2-1
4	September 21	Minnesota Wild	1 - 5	Columbus Blue Jackets		Mason	10,056	1-2-1
5	September 22	Boston Bruins	5 - 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	SO	Garon	10,571	2-2-1
6	September 24	Pittsburgh Penguins	2 - 5	Columbus Blue Jackets		Mason	12,638	3-2-1
7	September 26	Columbus Blue Jackets	4 - 2	Boston Bruins		Garon	16,711	4-2-1
8	September 27	Nashville Predators	4 - 2	Columbus Blue Jackets		Mason	13,761	4-3-1

Regular season

2009–10 game log
October: 6–5–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 3–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 3 Minnesota Wild 1 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 18,159 1-0-0 2 2 October 5 Columbus Blue Jackets 5 - 3 Vancouver Canucks Mason 18,810 2-0-0 4 3 October 8 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 6 San Jose Sharks Mason 17,562 2-1-0 4 4 October 10 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 0 Phoenix Coyotes Garon 17,532 3-1-0 6 5 October 13 Calgary Flames 1 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 13,280 4-1-0 8 6 October 17 Los Angeles Kings 1 - 4 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 15,251 5-1-0 10 7 October 20 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 6 Calgary Flames Mason 19,289 5-2-0 10 8 October 22 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 6 Edmonton Oilers Garon 16,839 5-3-0 10 9 October 24 Columbus Blue Jackets 6 - 4 Anaheim Ducks Mason 14,468 6-3-0 12 10 October 25 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 6 Los Angeles Kings Mason 15,820 6-4-0 12 11 October 28 Phoenix Coyotes 4 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 13,184 6-5-0 12 12 October 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Mason 19,136 6-5-1 13
November: 7–4–3 (home: 4–1–2; road: 3–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 13 November 1 Columbus Blue Jackets 5 - 4 Washington Capitals OT Mason 18,277 7-5-1 15 14 November 4 San Jose Sharks 3 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Mason 13,401 7-5-2 16 15 November 5 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 3 Atlanta Thrashers Garon 10,878 8-5-2 18 16 November 7 Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 14,850 9-5-2 20 17 November 11 Detroit Red Wings 9 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 15,304 9-6-2 20 18 November 13 Anaheim Ducks 2 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Garon 15,577 10-6-2 22 19 November 16 Edmonton Oilers 2 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Garon 13,030 11-6-2 24 20 November 19 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 1 Dallas Stars Mason 16,155 12-6-2 26 21 November 21 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 4 Nashville Predators SO Mason 13,790 12-6-3 27 22 November 23 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 7 New York Rangers Garon 18,200 12-7-3 27 23 November 24 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 5 Montreal Canadiens Garon 21,273 12-8-3 27 24 November 26 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 2 Ottawa Senators Mason 19,244 12-9-3 27 25 November 28 Calgary Flames 4 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Mason 17,772 12-9-4 28 26 November 30 St. Louis Blues 2 - 5 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 12,391 13-9-4 30
December: 2–9–5 (home: 2–4–2; road: 0–5–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 27 December 1 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 4 Chicago Blackhawks SO Mason 20,363 13-9-5 31 28 December 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 6 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 13,825 13-10-5 31 29 December 5 Colorado Avalanche 3 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 14,909 13-11-5 31 30 December 9 Florida Panthers 0 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 12,800 14-11-5 33 31 December 10 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 4 Nashville Predators SO Garon 14,601 14-11-6 34 32 December 12 Anaheim Ducks 3 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 14,461 14-12-6 34 33 December 14 Nashville Predators 5 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 12,856 14-13-6 34 34 December 15 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 2 Minnesota Wild Mason 18,086 14-14-6 34 35 December 17 Phoenix Coyotes 2 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Garon 13,363 14-14-7 35 36 December 19 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 5 Colorado Avalanche Mason 11,782 14-15-7 35 37 December 21 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 5 Phoenix Coyotes Garon 9,348 14-16-7 35 38 December 23 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 3 Dallas Stars Mason 16,532 14-17-7 35 39 December 26 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 2 Detroit Red Wings Garon 20,066 14-18-7 35 40 December 28 Detroit Red Wings 0 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets OT Mason 18,421 15-18-7 37 41 December 29 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 2 New York Islanders SO Mason 12,192 15-18-8 38 42 December 31 Nashville Predators 2 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets OT Garon 18,221 15-18-9 39
January: 7–8–0 (home: 3-3–0; road: 4–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 43 January 2 Colorado Avalanche 3 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 17,371 15-19-9 39 44 January 5 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 7 Vancouver Canucks Mason 18,810 15-20-9 39 45 January 7 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 2 Edmonton Oilers Garon 16,839 16-20-9 41 46 January 8 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 2 Calgary Flames Garon 19,289 17-20-9 43 47 January 10 Dallas Stars 0 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Garon 14,501 18-20-9 45 48 January 12 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 4 St. Louis Blues Garon 17,900 18-21-9 45 49 January 14 Columbus Blue Jackets 0 - 3 Chicago Blackhawks Garon 21,884 18-22-9 45 50 January 16 Chicago Blackhawks 6 - 5 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 18,738 18-23-9 45 51 January 18 St. Louis Blues 2 - 4 Columbus Blue Jackets Garon 14,505 19-23-9 47 52 January 19 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 5 Philadelphia Flyers Garon 19,126 19-24-9 47 53 January 21 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 2 Boston Bruins Mason 17,565 20-24-9 49 54 January 23 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 4 Minnesota Wild Mason 18,173 20-25-9 49 55 January 26 Nashville Predators 2 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 13,775 21-25-9 51 56 January 28 Los Angeles Kings 4 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 13,709 21-26-9 51 57 January 30 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 2 St. Louis Blues Garon 19,150 22-26-9 53
February: 3–2–1 (home: 3–1–1; road: 0–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 58 February 2 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 5 Colorado Avalanche Garon 11,213 22-27-9 53 59 February 4 Dallas Stars 1 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 14,028 23-27-9 55 60 February 6 Buffalo Sabres 0 - 4 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 18,576 24-27-9 57 61 February 10 San Jose Sharks 0 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 15,234 25-27-9 59 62 February 12 Vancouver Canucks 4 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 16,564 25-28-9 59 63 February 14 Chicago Blackhawks 5 - 4 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Garon 17,673 25-28-10 60
March: 7–4-3 (home: 5–1–2; road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 64 March 2 Vancouver Canucks 4 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets OT Mason 14,513 25-28-11 61 65 March 6 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 2 San Jose Sharks Mason 17,562 25-29-11 61 66 March 8 Columbus Blue Jackets 0 - 6 Los Angeles Kings Mason 17,524 25-30-11 61 67 March 9 Columbus Blue Jackets 5 - 2 Anaheim Ducks Garon 13,700 26-30-11 63 68 March 11 Atlanta Thrashers 1 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Garon 13,459 27-30-11 65 69 March 13 St. Louis Blues 5 - 1 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 16,453 27-31-11 65 70 March 15 Edmonton Oilers 3 - 5 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 13,603 28-31-11 67 71 March 19 Minnesota Wild 2 - 4 Columbus Blue Jackets Garon 16,419 29-31-11 69 72 March 20 Columbus Blue Jackets 0 - 1 Nashville Predators OT Mason 16,363 29-31-12 70 73 March 23 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 6 New Jersey Devils Mason 14,202 29-32-12 70 74 March 25 Chicago Blackhawks 3 - 8 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 14,573 30-32-12 72 75 March 27 New York Islanders 4 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets OT Garon 16,972 30-32-13 73 76 March 28 Columbus Blue Jackets 4 - 2 Chicago Blackhawks Mason 22,043 31-32-13 75 77 March 30 Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 15,760 32-32-13 77
April: 0–3–2 (home: 0–1–1; road: 0–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 78 April 1 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 3 Detroit Red Wings Mason 19,259 32-33-13 77 79 April 3 Washington Capitals 3 - 2 Columbus Blue Jackets Mason 16,957 32-34-13 77 80 April 5 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 - 2 St. Louis Blues OT Garon 17,601 32-34-14 78 81 April 7 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 4 Detroit Red Wings Mason 20,066 32-35-14 78 82 April 9 Detroit Red Wings 1 - 0 Columbus Blue Jackets SO Mason 18,512 32-35-15 79

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Rick Nash 76 33 34 67 -2 58 Antoine Vermette 82 27 38 65 +2 32 Kristian Huselius 74 23 40 63 -4 36 R. J. Umberger 82 23 32 55 -16 40 Jakub Voracek 81 16 34 50 -7 26 Derick Brassard 79 9 27 36 -17 48 Anton Stralman 73 6 28 34 -17 37 Fedor Tyutin 80 6 26 32 -7 49 Raffi Torres‡ 60 19 12 31 -8 32 Kris Russell 70 7 15 22 +3 32 Jason Chimera‡ 39 8 9 17 -7 47 Samuel Pahlsson 79 3 13 16 -9 32 Derek Dorsett 51 4 10 14 +6 105 Jan Hejda 62 3 10 13 -14 36 Mike Commodore 57 2 9 11 -9 62 Mathieu Roy‡ 31 0 10 10 -2 17 Rostislav Klesla 26 2 6 8 -7 26 Marc Methot 60 2 6 8 -8 51 Andrew Murray 46 5 2 7 -6 6 Jared Boll 68 4 3 7 -8 149 Fredrik Modin‡ 24 2 4 6 -6 12 Chris Clark† 36 3 2 5 -8 21 Derek MacKenzie 18 1 3 4 +3 0 Mike Blunden 40 2 2 4 +3 59 Milan Jurcina†‡ 17 1 2 3 +2 10 Grant Clitsome 11 1 2 3 0 6 Nikita Filatov 13 2 0 2 0 8 Tomas Kana 6 0 2 2 +2 2 Alexandre Picard‡ 9 0 0 0 -3 10 Tom Sestito 3 0 0 0 0 7 Trevor Frischmon 3 0 0 0 0 4 Maksim Mayorov 4 0 0 0 -1 0 Nathan Paetsch† 10 0 0 0 -5 6 Greg Moore 4 0 0 0 0 0 Chad Kolarik 2 0 0 0 -1 0

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

Regular season
Player GP TOI W L OT GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM Steve Mason 58 3201 20 26 9 163 3.06 1653 .901 5 0 2 2 Mathieu Garon 35 1771 12 9 6 83 2.81 858 .903 2 0 0 2

^†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

Regular season
Player	Award	Awarded
Mathieu Garon[4]	NHL Third Star of the Week	January 11, 2010

Records

Player	Record	Number	Reached
Steve Mason	Career Shutouts	13	February 6, 2010

Milestones

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Rick Nash	200th NHL Goal	October 24, 2009
Antoine Vermette	100th NHL Goal	January 8, 2010
Mathieu Garon	100th NHL Win	January 8, 2010
Grant Clitsome	1st NHL Point 1st NHL Assist	March 2, 2010
Mike Blunden	1st NHL Point 1st NHL Assist	March 9, 2010
Fedor Tyutin	100th NHL Assist	March 11, 2010
Mike Blunden	1st NHL Goal	March 25, 2010
Grant Clitsome	1st NHL Goal	March 27, 2010
Tomas Kana	1st NHL Point 1st NHL Assist	April 7, 2010

Transactions

The Blue Jackets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

Trades

Date	Details
June 26, 2009[5]	To New York Islanders 1st-round pick (16th overall) in 2009 3rd-round pick (77th overall) in 2009	To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick (26th overall) in 2009 2nd-round pick (37th overall) in 2009 3rd-round pick (62nd overall) in 2009 4th-round pick (92nd overall) in 2009
June 26, 2009	To Anaheim Ducks 1st-round pick (26th overall) in 2009 2nd-round pick (37th overall) in 2009	To Columbus Blue Jackets 1st-round pick (21st overall) in 2009
June 27, 2009	To New York Islanders 3rd-round pick (62nd overall) in 2009 4th-round pick (92nd overall) in 2009	To Columbus Blue Jackets 2nd-round pick (56th overall) in 2009
September 28, 2009[6]	To Calgary Flames 3rd-round pick in 2010	To Columbus Blue Jackets Anton Stralman
October 8, 2009[7]	To Atlanta Thrashers Future considerations	To Columbus Blue Jackets Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman
October 20, 2009[8]	To Philadelphia Flyers Stefan Legein	To Columbus Blue Jackets Michael Ratchuk
December 8, 2009[9]	To St. Louis Blues Pascal Pelletier	To Columbus Blue Jackets Brendan Bell Tomas Kana
December 28, 2009[10]	To Washington Capitals Jason Chimera	To Columbus Blue Jackets Chris Clark Milan Jurcina
March 1, 2010[11]	To New York Islanders Dylan Reese	To Columbus Blue Jackets Greg Moore
March 3, 2010[12]	To Buffalo Sabres Raffi Torres	To Columbus Blue Jackets Nathan Paetsch 2nd-round pick in 2010
March 3, 2010[13]	To Washington Capitals Milan Jurcina	To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional 6th-round pick in 2010[a]
March 3, 2010[14]	To Los Angeles Kings Fredrik Modin	To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional 7th-round pick in 2010[b]
March 3, 2010[15]	To Florida Panthers Mathieu Roy	To Columbus Blue Jackets Matt Rust
March 3, 2010[16]	To Phoenix Coyotes Alexandre Picard	To Columbus Blue Jackets Chad Kolarik

Condition not satisfied. Condition not satisfied. Free agents acquired Player Former team Contract terms Samuel Pahlsson[17] Chicago Blackhawks 3 years, $7.95 million Mathieu Garon[18] Pittsburgh Penguins 2 years, $2.4 million Pascal Pelletier[19] Chicago Blackhawks 1 year, 2-way contract Mathieu Roy[20] Springfield Falcons 1 year, 2-way contract David Liffiton[21] EfB Ishockey 2-way contract Dylan Reese[21] San Antonio Rampage 2-way contract

Free agents lost Player New team Contract terms Aaron Rome[22] Vancouver Canucks 1 year, $550,000 Wade Dubielewicz[23] Minnesota Wild undisclosed Ole-Kristian Tollefsen[24] Philadelphia Flyers 1 year, $600,000 Jason Williams[25] Detroit Red Wings 1 year, $1.5 million Craig MacDonald[26] DEG Metro Stars undisclosed Mike York[27] Rochester Americans 1 year Manny Malhotra[28] San Jose Sharks 1 year, $700,000

Claimed via waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Lost via waivers Player New team Date claimed off waivers

Lost via retirement Player Michael Peca[29] Player signings Player Contract terms Brent Regner[30] 3-year entry-level contract Trevor Frischmon[31] 1 year, 2-way contract Rick Nash[32] 8 years, $62.4 million extension Jonathan Sigalet[33] 2 year, 2-way contract Mike Blunden[34] 1 year, 2-way contract John Moore[35] 3-year entry-level contract Marc Methot[36] 2 years Dan LaCosta[37] 1 year, 2-way contract Derick Brassard[38] 4 years, $13 million extension Alexandre Picard[39] 1 year Derek Dorsett[40] 2 year contract extension Antoine Vermette[41] 5 year, $18.75 million contract extension Matt Calvert[42] 3-year entry-level contract

Draft picks

Columbus had six picks at the 2009 NHL entry draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	21 (from Philadelphia via Anaheim)	John Moore	(D)	United States	Chicago Steel (USHL)
2	56 (from Boston via NY Islanders)	Kevin Lynch	(C)	United States	U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)
4	94 (from Colorado)	David Savard	(D)	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
5	137	Thomas Larkin	(D)	Italy	(Exeter High School) (USHS-NH)
6	167	Anton Blomqvist	(D)	Sweden	Malmo Redhawks Jr. (J20 SuperElit)
7	197	Kyle Neuber	(RW)	Canada	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL)

See also

• 2009–10 NHL season

Farm teams

The American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch and the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators are the Blue Jackets' minor league affiliates for the 2009–10 season.