This was back when the NHL didn't make it easy on its newest franchises, and the Blue Jackets found that out the hard way in year two. After winning 28 games and accumulating 71 points in that first season, the second Blue Jackets team saw those numbers dip to just 22 wins and 57 points as Columbus finished 12 points worse than anyone else in the Western Conference even while selling out every game.
How difficult was it? Columbus was outscored by more than a goal per game (255-164) and only one player -- Jody Shelley -- who played at least 10 games had a positive plus-minus rating.
After an auspicious start that included four points in the first five games thanks to four ties and a loss, Columbus went into a deep funk, losing 10 of its next 12 games. From there, the team simply struggled to string wins together in a difficult Central Division headed by powerful teams in Detroit and St. Louis.
There were reasons for optimism entering the season. The team looked forward to a full season from Ray Whitney, the playmaking winger who had been acquired the previous March. Columbus signed veteran center Mike Sillinger in free agency and acquired winger Grant Marshall from Dallas in a trade, moves that were made to bolster a squad that returned five of its top six scorers in Geoff Sanderson, Espen Knutsen, Tyler Wright, David Vyborny and Serge Aubin. The Blue Jackets also added Rostislav Klesla full-time, as the defenseman who was the first draft pick in team history had played just eight games the year before.
For whatever reason, goals just didn't come, though. Whitney truly was "The Wizard," leading the way in all three major statistical categories with 21 goals, 40 assists and 61 points in just 67 games. Sillinger added some punch with a 20-23-43 line while Knutsen was again solid, chipping in 11 goals and 31 assists on the way to becoming the first Blue Jackets player to suit up in the NHL All-Star Game.
But the scoring largely dropped off after that, in part because Sanderson played in just 42 games thanks to back and hernia injuries after leading the team in points the year before. Defensively, the team split the time in net between Ron Tugnutt (44 games) and Marc Denis (42), with Tugnutt winning 12 games and Denis nine.
With the team out of contention at the trade deadline, general manager Doug MacLean made a couple of moves to try to shore up the blue line. Captain Lyle Odelein was sent to a playoff-bound Chicago team for Jaroslav Spacek and a draft pick, while Jamie Pushor was traded to Pittsburgh for another pick and the team acquired Jamie Allison from Calgary.
Off the ice, the team hosted the seventh annual Willie O'Ree All-Star Weekend on March 23-24, featuring kids aged 10-12 who were participants in the NHL's Diversity Task Force. A game held on the last day drew a record turnout of more than 4,000 fans at Nationwide Arena.
But the season also ended on a tragic note. Brittanie Cecil, 13, was struck by a deflected puck while in her seat in the Nationwide Arena bowl during a game March 16. She died two days later of an undetected tear in an artery in her neck, becoming the first fan fatality in the league's history.
