2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season
| 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Central |
| Conference | 7th Western |
| 2008–09 record | 41–31–10 |
| Home record | 25–13–3 |
| Road record | 16–18–7 |
| Goals for | 226 |
| Goals against | 230 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Scott Howson |
| Coach | Ken Hitchcock |
| Captain | Rick Nash |
| Alternate captains |
Rostislav Klesla Fredrik Modin Michael Peca |
| Arena | Nationwide Arena |
| Average attendance | 15,543 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Rick Nash (40) |
| Assists | Rick Nash (39) |
| Points | Rick Nash (79) |
| Penalties in minutes | Jared Boll (180) |
| Plus/minus | Jan Hejda (+23) |
| Wins | Steve Mason (33) |
| Goals against average | Steve Mason (2.29) |
The 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets season is the ninth 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.
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 key pre-season trades, trading a draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for R. J. Umberger, and trading stars Nikolay Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers in exchange for defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman.
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 2009 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 the Ottawa Senators for forward Antoine Vermette. Vermette made an instant impact with the club, racking up seven points in his first six games.
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