2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2003–04
Team=Columbus Blue Jackets
Conference=Western
ConferenceRank=14th
Division=Central
DivisionRank=4th
Record=25–45–8–4
HomeRecord=17–18–4–2
RoadRecord=8–27–4–2
GoalsFor=177
GoalsAgainst=238
GeneralManager=Doug MacLean
Coach= Doug MacLean
Gerard Gallant
Captain=Luke Richardson
AltCaptain=
Arena=Nationwide Arena
Attendance=17,369
GoalsLeader=Rick Nash (41)
AssistsLeader=David Vyborny (31)
PointsLeader=Rich Nash (57)
PlusMinusLeader=
PIMLeader=Jody Shelley (228)
WinsLeader=Marc Denis (21)
GAALeader=Marc Denis (2.56)

The 2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' 4th season in the NHL, as the team was coming off of a 29–42–8–3 record in the 2002–03 season, earning 69 points, finishing in last place in the Western Conference for the 2nd straight year.

Columbus would undergo some changes during the off-season, as leading scorer and team captain, Ray Whitney, would leave the Blue Jackets and sign with the Detroit Red Wings. The Jackets would name veteran defenceman Luke Richardson to become the 3rd captain in club history.

The Blue Jackets would get off to a solid start in 2003–04, winning 3 of their first 4 games, however, the club would go on a 7 game losing streak, and fall quickly out of playoff contention. Columbus would continue to struggle, and GM/Head Coach Doug MacLean announced on January 1, 2004, that he would step down from head coaching duties and hire Jackets assistant coach and former NHL player Gerard Gallant to replace him. Columbus had a 9–21–4–3 under MacLean. While the Blue Jackets would play better hockey with Gallant behind the bench, the team would fail once again to earn a playoff spot, as they finished the season with a 25–45–8–4 record, earning 62 points, which was 7 fewer than the previous season, and finish 29 points the Nashville Predators for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Columbus, though, climbed out of the basement in the Central Division for the 1st time in club history, as they finished ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Rick Nash had a memorable season, finishing in a 3 way tie with Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers and Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames to win the Rocket Richard Trophy, awarded to the player who scored the most goals during the season. Nash scored a club record 41 goals, and had a club best 57 points. David Vyborny led the Blue Jackets with 31 assists and finished 2nd to Nash with 53 points. Rookie Nikolai Zherdev had 34 points in 57 games. On the blueline, Anders Eriksson led the Jackets with 27 points, while Jaroslav Spacek contributed with 22 points in only 58 games. Jody Shelley provided the team toughness, earning a team high 228 penalty minutes.

In goal, Marc Denis was the go to guy, playing in a team high 66 games, winning 21 of them, posting a team best 2.56 GAA, and earning 5 shutouts along the way.

eason standings

Goaltending

Draft picks

Columbus' draft picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft:

References

* [http://www.shrpsports.com SHRP Sports]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com The Internet Hockey Database]
*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007