On June 23, 2000, the NHL's two newest teams, the Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, took part in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft in Calgary, Alberta. The former, which referenced Ohio's contributions to the American Civil War, was eventually announced as the team name in November. Then, with the information received from owner McConnell regarding Columbus' history, the league and the franchise narrowed the list of potential names down to two – Blue Jackets and Justice. The franchise received 14,000 entries and, with help from the NHL, narrowed the list down to 10 names. Afterwards a "Name the Team" contest was held with the help of Wendy's throughout central Ohio during the month of August 1997. Subsequently, on June 25, 1997, the NHL announced that Columbus would receive a new franchise. However, Nationwide announced on May 31, 1997, that it would finance the $150-million arena. Ĭolumbus' hopes for the bid dimmed when the May referendum failed. McConnell (one of those who entered the bid) privately guaranteed Bettman that an arena would be built, referendum or not. However, just after the meeting adjourned, John H. The civic leaders told Bettman that they would not be willing to foot the bill for the team if the referendum failed. When League Commissioner Gary Bettman visited Columbus to meet with the community's leaders about the franchise proposal, there was concern that the voters might not pass the needed referendum. The voters of Columbus were considering a referendum to build a publicly financed arena, a major step toward approval of their NHL bid. In November 1996, five investors formed a partnership called Columbus Hockey Limited, who then submitted an application and a $100,000 fee to the NHL office. The Chill played at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum, where they set a minor league hockey record by selling out 83 consecutive games. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets replaced the Columbus Chill of the ECHL, who played in the city from 1991 to 1999. Prior to the establishment of the Blue Jackets, the last NHL team in the state of Ohio was the Cleveland Barons, who played from 1976 to 1978. They are affiliated with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.įranchise history Building a new franchise (1997–2000) The Blue Jackets play their home games at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, which opened in 2000. The Blue Jackets' name and logos are inspired by Ohio's Civil War history. Along with the Seattle Kraken, the Blue Jackets are one of only two teams in the league who have never yet appeared in the conference finals. Columbus ultimately notched their first playoff game victory in the 2014 playoffs, and won their first playoff series in the 2019 playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the first team in NHL history to sweep a Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 2009, but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Blue Jackets struggled in their initial years, failing to win 30 games in a season until 2005–06. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, and began play as an expansion team in 2000. The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. Union blue, goal red, capital silver, white
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