FALCONS AND BLUE JACKETS FAST FACTS

Columbus Blue Jackets/Springfield Falcons Fast Facts

•    The Blue Jackets are led by team captain Rick Nash, who led the National Hockey League in goals during the 2003-04 season.  Nash was the first overall selection in the 2002 NHL entry draft by Columbus and he has reached the 30-goal plateau five times in his career.

 
•    Goaltender Steve Mason was the NHL’s Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 campaign.

•    The Blue Jackets started playing games in the Fall of 2000 at their home venue, Nationwide Arena.

•    Columbus qualified for the post-season during the 2008-09 campaign hosting their first ever Stanley Cup Playoff game in the Spring of 2009. 

•    Over the last 10 seasons, Columbus has helped their AHL affiliate to a record of 372-308-43-47-27 record (wins-losses-ties-overtime losses-shootout losses), good for a .547 winning percentage. Columbus’ AHL affiliate has made the post-season in five of the last 10 seasons. 

•    The Springfield Falcons have had the Hartford Whalers, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, LA Kings, NY Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers and now Columbus Blue Jackets as NHL partners since their inaugural season of 1994-95. 

•    Hartford and Winnipeg shared the affiliation with Springfield from 1994-1996.

•    When the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, AZ, the Coyotes became the Falcons’ lone NHL affiliate at the beginning of the 1996-97 campaign.

•    The Falcons were primarily with Phoenix, but the LA Kings had four players assigned to the Falcons during the 1998-99 campaign. 

•    During the 2000-01 season, the Falcons received players from both the Phoenix Coyotes and the NY Islanders including:  Jason Krog, Juraj Kolnik, Steve Valiquette and Mathieu Biron. 

•    From 2001-2003, the Phoenix Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning shared the affiliation with the Falcons.

•    Phoenix was once again the only NHL affiliate of the Falcons starting in 2003-04 before Tampa Bay became the primary NHL affiliate in Springfield starting in 2004-05. 

•    Tampa Bay was the Falcons’ NHL affiliate from 2004-2007 before the Edmonton Oilers tenure from 2007-2010.

•    Since the start of the 2005-06 campaign, the Falcons have started the following season with a new head coach five straight years.  Dirk Graham (2005-06), Steve Stirling (2006-07), Geoff Ward (never coached a game, but named head coach on May 15, 2007), Kelly Buchberger (2007-08), Jeff Truitt (2008-09) and Rob Daum (2009-10) have been the coaches to start a season over the last five seasons.