2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2006–07
Team=Columbus Blue Jackets
Conference=Western
ConferenceRank=11th
Division=Central
DivisionRank=4th
Record=33–42–7
HomeRecord=18–19–4
RoadRecord=15–23–3
GoalsFor=201
GoalsAgainst=249
Coach=Gerard Gallant (Oct/Nov)
Gary Agnew (interim) (Nov 13–22)
Ken Hitchcock (Nov-Apr)
Captain=Adam Foote
AltCaptain=Sergei Fedorov
Rick Nash
David Vyborny
Arena=Nationwide Arena
Attendance=16,401 (90.43%)
GoalsLeader=Rick Nash (27)
AssistsLeader=David Vyborny (48)
PointsLeader=David Vyborny (64)
PIMLeader=Alexander Svitov (145)
WinsLeader=Fredrik Norrena (24)
GAALeader=Fredrik Norrena (2.78)

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

The offseason was dominated by a contract dispute with top forward Nikolai Zherdev, who had threatened to return to Russia to play if Columbus did not meet his demands. Zherdev remained a hold out for much of the pre-season, however the two parties were able to come to an agreement about a week before the season began. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2606161 Blue Jackets re-sign right wing Zherdev] , espn.com, September 28, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006]

The 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 league. The Jackets poor start led General Manager Doug MacLean to fire head coach Gerard Gallant on November 13. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=184195&hubname=nhl Blue Jackets fire Gerard Gallant] , tsn.ca, November 13, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006] . Gallant would be replaced a week later by veteran coach Ken Hitchcock. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=185480&hubname=nhl Blue Jackets hire Hitchcock as coach] , tsn.ca, November 22, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006] . Coincidentally, Hitchcock's first game as Jackets head coach would be 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 post-season. As the Atlanta Thrashers qualified for the playoffs in the East, the Blue Jackets are now the only NHL team to have never played a post-season game.

Regular season

eason standings

December

March

"Final Season Stats"

Goaltending

"Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average"

Free Agents Lost

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. [ [http://www.syracusecrunch.com/press/index.cfm?&action=display&pr_id=1450 Syracuse Crunch and Columbus Blue Jackets extend affiliation agreement] , Syracuse Crunch press release, July 31, 2006, accessed December 9, 2006]

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.

ee also

*2006–07 NHL season

References

*Player stats: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/stats?team=cls Columbus Blue Jackets player stats] on espn.com
*Game log: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/schedule?team=cls Columbus Blue Jackets game log] on espn.com
*Team standings: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/standings NHL standings] on espn.com

Goaltenders:

hockey team player|no=1|name=Popperle•hockey team player|no=30|name=Norrena•hockey team player|no=31|name=Leclaire•

Defensemen

hockey team player|no=2|name=Eriksson•hockey team player|no=4|name=Berard•hockey team player|no=6|name=Hainsey•hockey team player|no=10|name=Westcott•hockey team player|no=23|name=Walser•hockey team player|no=37|name=Campbell•hockey team player|no=44|name=Johnson•hockey team player|no=48|name=Methot•hockey team player|no=52|name=Foote•hockey team player|no=55|name=Tollefsen •

Forwards

hockey team player|no=9|name=Vyborny•hockey team player|no=13|name=Zherdev•hockey team player|no=16|name=Svitov•hockey team player|no=17|name=Brule•hockey team player|no=19|name=Picard•hockey team player|no=20|name=Glencross•hockey team player|no=25|name=Chimera•hockey team player|no=27|name=Malhotra•hockey team player|no=28|name=Konopka•hockey team player|no=33|name=Modin•hockey team player|no=38|name=Lindstrom•hockey team player|no=45|name=Shelley•hockey team player|no=47|name=Platt•hockey team player|no=49|name=Fritsche•hockey team player|no=61|name=Nash•