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Columbus Blue Jackets Tickets |
Atlanta Thrashers Tickets |
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). One of the NHL's newest teams, the Blue Jackets took to the ice for the first time on October 7, 2000, with a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Bruce Gardiner scored the first goal in franchise history. The team's nickname was selected from suggestions by fans. There are at least four possible factors that may have contributed to the selection of the name. At the time the name was first announced, some media reports speculated that because team owner John H. McConnell's favorite color is blue, he had directed that any name selected for the team must contain the word blue. The initial logo for the team featured "an insect with an attitude," suggesting that the name is a play on the term yellowjacket. It may also be a reference to Ohio's hockey teams of the past, including the Toledo Hornets and the Cincinnati Stingers. The insect logo was reduced to secondary status before the team began play and was eliminated entirely during the 2003-04 season. Prior to the 2005-2006 season, the Blue Jackets signed former Colorado Avalanche Defenseman Adam Foote to a three year deal worth $13.5 million dollars. The team struggled again in the first half of the 2005-06 season, in part because of injuries to key players including Nash, 2000 first round pick Rostislav Klesla, and 2005 first round pick Gilbert Brule, who have each had two stints on the injured reserve list. In all, 11 players had made a total of 15 trips to the IR through the NHL's Christmas break. The Blue Jackets improved in December and January, due in no small part to Rick Nash making a return off injured reserve on December 18. At the end of January they stood 14-12-0 at home, 8 wins in their last 11 games, and finishing 1st in the NHL for power play efficiency for that month.
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