2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the seventh National Hockey League season in Columbus, Ohio.

2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	4th Central
Conference	11th Western
2006–07 record	33–42–7
Home record	18–19–4
Road record	15–23–3
Goals for	201
Goals against	249
Team information
General Manager	Doug MacLean
Coach	Gerard Gallant (Oct/Nov) Gary Agnew (interim)(Nov 13–22) Ken Hitchcock (Nov-Apr)
Captain	Adam Foote
Alternate captains	Sergei Fedorov Rick Nash David Vyborny
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Average attendance	16,401 (90.43%)
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Nash (27)
Assists	David Vyborny (48)
Points	David Vyborny (64)
Penalty minutes	Alexander Svitov (145)
Wins	Fredrik Norrena (24)
Goals against average	Fredrik Norrena (2.78)

The off-season was dominated by a contract dispute with top forward Nikolay Zherdev, who had threatened to return to Russia to play if Columbus did not meet his demands. Zherdev remained a holdout for much of the preseason. However, the two parties were able to come to an agreement approximately a week before the season began.[1]

The Blue 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 NHL. The Jackets' poor start led General Manager Doug MacLean to fire Head Coach Gerard Gallant on November 13.[2] Gallant would be replaced a week later by veteran coach Ken Hitchcock.[3] Coincidentally, Hitchcock's first game as Jackets head coach was 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 postseason. 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

The Blue Jackets were shut out a League-high 16 times during the regular season. Along with the four shutouts Blue Jackets goaltenders recorded, 20 of the Blue Jackets' 82 regular-season games ended in a shutout. They were also the most penalized team in the League, with 453 power-play opportunities against.[4][5]

Season standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Detroit Red Wings	82	50	19	13	254	199	113
2	4	Nashville Predators	82	51	23	8	272	212	110
3	10	St. Louis Blues	82	34	35	13	214	254	81
4	11	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	33	42	7	201	249	73
5	13	Chicago Blackhawks	82	31	42	9	201	258	71

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime/shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Final regular season standings for the 2006–07 NHL season

Schedule and results

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.

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
David Vyborny	RW	82	16	48	64	60	6	6	0	2
Rick Nash	LW	75	27	30	57	73	-8	9	1	5
Fredrik Modin	LW	79	22	20	42	50	-3	6	0	4
Sergei Fedorov	C	73	18	24	42	56	-7	7	2	2
Jason Chimera	LW	82	15	21	36	91	2	2	2	2
Ron Hainsey	D	80	9	25	34	69	-19	7	0	0
Nikolay Zherdev	W	71	10	22	32	26	-19	3	0	2
Dan Fritsche	C	59	12	15	27	35	3	5	1	4
Anson Carter	RW	54	10	17	27	16	-1	3	0	1
Manny Malhotra	C	82	9	16	25	76	-8	2	0	3
Anders Eriksson	D	79	0	23	23	46	12	0	0	0
Rostislav Klesla	D	75	9	13	22	105	-13	2	0	0
Gilbert Brule	C	78	9	10	19	28	-21	3	0	0
Alexander Svitov	C	76	7	11	18	145	-10	1	0	2
Adam Foote	D	59	3	9	12	71	-17	2	0	0
Duvie Westcott	D	23	4	6	10	18	-13	2	0	1
Aaron Johnson	D	61	3	7	10	38	-9	0	0	0
Geoff Platt	C	26	4	5	9	10	1	0	0	0
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	D	70	2	3	5	123	2	1	0	0
Marc Methot	D	20	0	4	4	12	5	0	0	0
Mark Hartigan	C	6	1	2	3	2	2	1	0	0
Bryan Berard	D	11	0	3	3	8	-4	0	0	0
Derrick Walser	D	9	2	0	2	0	-1	2	0	0
Jaroslav Balastik	RW	8	1	1	2	4	-3	1	0	0
Jody Shelley	LW	72	1	1	2	125	-6	0	0	0
Joakim Lindstrom	C	9	1	0	1	4	-3	0	0	0
Joe Motzko	RW	7	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Alexandre Picard	LW	23	0	1	1	6	-3	0	0	0
Brian Boucher	G	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darcy Campbell	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ty Conklin	G	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Curtis Glencross	C	7	0	0	0	0	-4	0	0	0
Steven Goertzen	RW	7	0	0	0	10	0	0	0	0
Zenon Konopka	C	6	0	0	0	20	-2	0	0	0
Pascal Leclaire	G	24	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Fredrik Norrena	G	55	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0
Filip Novak	D	6	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
Tomas Popperle	G	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Fredrik Norrena	2952	55	24	23	3	137	2.78	3	1420	1283	.904
Pascal Leclaire	1315	24	6	15	2	65	2.97	1	629	564	.897
Ty Conklin	491	11	2	3	2	27	3.30	0	210	183	.871
Brian Boucher	142	3	1	1	0	9	3.80	0	67	58	.866
Tomas Popperle	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

[6]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = 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.[7][8]

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 Konopka Curtis Glencross Conditional 7th round pick in 2007 or 2008	To Anaheim Ducks Joe Motzko Mark Hartigan 4th round pick in 2007
February 23, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th round pick in 2008	To Carolina Hurricanes Anson Carter
February 27, 2007	To Columbus Blue Jackets 5th round pick in 2007	To Buffalo Sabres Ty 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.[9] The Blue Jackets picked 6th overall.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	NHL Team	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	6	Derick Brassard (C)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
3	69	Steve Mason (G)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets	London Knights (OHL)
3	85	Tommy Sestito (LW)	United States	Columbus Blue Jackets (from San Jose via Philadelphia)	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
4	113	Ben Wright (D)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets (from San Jose)	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
5	129	Robert Nyholm (RW)	Finland	Columbus Blue Jackets	HIFK Jr. (Finland)
5	136	Nick Sucharski (LW)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets (from Toronto)	Michigan State University (NCAA)
5	142	Maxim Frechette (D)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets (from Anaheim)	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
6	159	Jesse Dudas (D)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
7	189	Derek Dorsett (RW)	Canada	Columbus Blue Jackets	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7	194	Matt Marquardt (LW)	Canada	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.[10]

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

1. "Blue Jackets re-sign right wing Zherdev". espn.com. September 28, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
2. Blue Jackets fire Gerard Gallant, tsn.ca, November 13, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
3. Blue Jackets hire Hitchcock as coach, tsn.ca, November 22, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
4. "2006-07 NHL Schedule and Results | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
5. "2006-07 NHL Summary | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
6. "2006-07 Columbus Blue Jackets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
7. NHL Insider - Offseason Trades, nhl.com. Retrieved December 2, 2006.
8. NHL Insider - Free Agent Signings, nhl.com. Retrieved December 2, 2006.
9. 2006 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com - accessed November 20, 2006
10. Syracuse Crunch and Columbus Blue Jackets extend affiliation agreement, Syracuse Crunch press release, July 31, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2006.

External links

• 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

2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets Roster

Goaltenders: 1 – Popperle • 30 – Norrena • 31 – Leclaire • 35 – Boucher  Defensemen 2 – Eriksson • 4 – Berard • 6 – Hainsey • 10 – Westcott • 23 – Walser • 37 – Campbell • 44 – Johnson • 48 – Methot • 52 – Foote • 55 – Tollefsen  • 97 – Klesla  Forwards 9 – Vyborny • 13 – Zherdev • 16 – Svitov • 17 – Brule • 19 – Picard • 20 – Glencross • 25 – Chimera • 27 – Malhotra • 28 – Konopka • 33 – Modin • 38 – Lindstrom • 45 – Shelley • 47 – Platt • 49 – Fritsche • 61 – Nash • 91 – Fedorov  General Manager: Doug MacLean •  Coach: Ken Hitchcock