2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season

2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	5th Central
Conference	15th Western
2002–03 record	29–42–8–3
Home record	20–14–5–2
Road record	9–28–3–1
Goals for	213
Goals against	263
Team information
General manager	Doug MacLean
Coach	Dave King (Oct-Jan) Doug MacLean (Jan-Apr)
Captain	Ray Whitney
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Average attendance	17,744
Team leaders
Goals	Geoff Sanderson (34)
Assists	Ray Whitney (52)
Points	Ray Whitney (76)
Penalty minutes	Jody Shelley (249)
Wins	Marc Denis (27)
Goals against average	Marc Denis (3.09)

The 2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' third season in the National Hockey League (NHL), as the team was coming off of a 22–47–8–5 record in the 2001–02 season, earning 57 points and finishing in last in the Western Conference.

Regular season

The Blue Jackets got off to a good start, having a 7–5–1–1 record in their opening 14 games. Columbus, however, won only two of their next 12 games to fall out of the playoff picture. The club would play mediocre hockey for the rest of the season, finishing with a 29–42–8–3 record, earning 69 points for last place in the Western Conference for the second-straight season. Midway through the season, Columbus fired Head Coach Dave King after a 14–20–4–2 start. King was replaced with General Manager Doug MacLean, as the Blue Jackets posted a record of 15–22–4–1 record under his guidance. The 69 points was a 12-point improvement over the previous season, but the club finished 23 points behind the Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff spot in the Conference. The previous season, the Blue Jackets scored a League-low 164 goals, however, the team would beat that total by 49 goals, finishing with a club record 213 goals. Columbus though led the NHL in goals against, allowing 263, also a club record.

Ray Whitney led the club in points for the second-straight season, earning a club record 76 points, as he scored 24 goals and 52 assists. Geoff Sanderson rebounded from an injury-plagued 2001–02 season to score a club record 34 goals, while Andrew Cassels earned 68 points in his first season in Columbus. David Vyborny had a breakout season, scoring 20 goals and 46 points. On the blueline, Jaroslav Spacek scored nine goals and earned 45 points in his first full season with the team. Jody Shelley led the team with 249 penalty minutes, setting a franchise record.

In goal, Marc Denis got the bulk of the action, winning a club-record 27 games, while posting a 3.09 goals against average (GAA) and earning five shutouts along the way.

Season standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Detroit Red Wings	82	48	20	10	4	269	203	110
2	5	St. Louis Blues	82	41	24	11	6	253	222	99
3	9	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	33	13	6	207	226	79
4	13	Nashville Predators	82	27	35	13	7	183	206	74
5	15	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	29	42	8	3	213	263	69

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Schedule and results

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 10	Chicago Blackhawks	1–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–0–0–0	2
2	October 12	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	New Jersey Devils	1–1–0–0	2
3	October 14	Phoenix Coyotes	4–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–2–0–0	2
4	October 17	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–7	St. Louis Blues	1–3–0–0	2
5	October 19	Florida Panthers	1–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3–0–0	4
6	October 23	Tampa Bay Lightning	2–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3–1–0	5
7	October 25	San Jose Sharks	5–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4–1–0	5
8	October 27	Los Angeles Kings	1–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–4–1–0	7
9	October 29	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Chicago Blackhawks	3–5–1–0	7
10	November 1	Dallas Stars	2–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–5–1–0	9
11	November 3	Buffalo Sabres	2–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–5–1–0	11
12	November 5	Washington Capitals	4–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–5–1–1	12
13	November 7	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–2	St. Louis Blues	6–5–1–1	14
14	November 9	New York Rangers	3–6	Columbus Blue Jackets	7–5–1–1	16
15	November 12	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–5	Colorado Avalanche	7–6–1–1	16
16	November 14	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	7–7–1–1	16
17	November 16	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–1	Nashville Predators	7–7–2–1	17
18	November 17	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Dallas Stars	7–7–2–2	18
19	November 20	St. Louis Blues	2–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	8–7–2–2	20
20	November 22	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–5	Buffalo Sabres	8–8–2–2	20
21	November 23	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–5	Ottawa Senators	8–9–2–2	20
22	November 27	Edmonton Oilers	3–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	8–10–2–2	20
23	November 29	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–2	New York Islanders	9–10–2–2	22
24	November 30	Carolina Hurricanes	4–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	9–11–2–2	22
25	December 3	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–5	New York Rangers	9–12–2–2	22
26	December 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	San Jose Sharks	9–13–2–2	22
27	December 7	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–2	Los Angeles Kings	10–13–2–2	24
28	December 9	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–2	Phoenix Coyotes	10–13–3–2	25
29	December 12	New Jersey Devils	2–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	11–13–3–2	27
30	December 14	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–6	Detroit Red Wings	11–14–3–2	27
31	December 19	Calgary Flames	0–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	12–14–3–2	29
32	December 20	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–3	Chicago Blackhawks	12–15–3–2	29
33	December 23	Detroit Red Wings	1–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	12–16–3–2	29
34	December 26	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4	Detroit Red Wings	12–17–3–2	29
35	December 28	St. Louis Blues	6–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	12–18–3–2	29
36	December 29	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–5	St. Louis Blues	12–19–3–2	29
37	December 31	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	13–19–3–2	31
38	January 3	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–2	Washington Capitals	13–19–4–2	32
39	January 4	Phoenix Coyotes	0–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	14–19–4–2	34
40	January 6	Nashville Predators	5–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	14–20–4–2	34
41	January 8	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–1	Minnesota Wild	15–20–4–2	36
42	January 10	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–2	Vancouver Canucks	16–20–4–2	38
43	January 11	Columbus Blue Jackets	7–2	Calgary Flames	17–20–4–2	40
44	January 13	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–8	Edmonton Oilers	17–21–4–2	40
45	January 15	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	4–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	17–22–4–2	40
46	January 18	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–7	Boston Bruins	17–23–4–2	40
47	January 20	Chicago Blackhawks	1–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	18–23–4–2	42
48	January 22	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4	Dallas Stars	18–24–4–2	42
49	January 23	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–5	Colorado Avalanche	18–25–4–2	42
50	January 25	New York Islanders	1–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	19–25–4–2	44
51	January 28	Colorado Avalanche	2–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	19–25–5–2	45
52	January 30	Nashville Predators	1–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	20–25–5–2	47
53	February 5	Vancouver Canucks	4–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	20–25–6–2	48
54	February 8	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Nashville Predators	20–26–6–2	48
55	February 12	San Jose Sharks	0–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	21–26–6–2	50
56	February 13	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–1	Montreal Canadiens	22–26–6–2	52
57	February 15	Chicago Blackhawks	7–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	22–27–6–2	52
58	February 18	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–5	Phoenix Coyotes	22–28–6–2	52
59	February 19	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	22–29–6–2	52
60	February 21	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–6	San Jose Sharks	22–30–6–2	52
61	February 23	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–7	Vancouver Canucks	22–31–6–2	52
62	February 25	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–5	Nashville Predators	22–32–6–2	52
63	February 27	Los Angeles Kings	1–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	23–32–6–2	54
64	March 1	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	23–32–7–2	55
65	March 3	Detroit Red Wings	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	23–33–7–2	55
66	March 6	Vancouver Canucks	4–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	24–33–7–2	57
67	March 8	Calgary Flames	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	24–33–7–3	58
68	March 10	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–6	Carolina Hurricanes	24–34–7–3	58
69	March 11	Dallas Stars	2–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	24–35–7–3	58
70	March 13	Colorado Avalanche	5–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	24–36–7–3	58
71	March 15	Minnesota Wild	0–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	25–36–7–3	60
72	March 17	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Atlanta Thrashers	25–37–7–3	60
73	March 20	Toronto Maple Leafs	3–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	26–37–7–3	62
74	March 22	Atlanta Thrashers	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	26–38–7–3	62
75	March 24	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–5	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	26–39–7–3	62
76	March 25	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–1	Los Angeles Kings	27–39–7–3	64
77	March 28	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–4	Edmonton Oilers	27–40–7–3	64
78	March 29	Columbus Blue Jackets	6–4	Calgary Flames	28–40–7–3	66
79	April 1	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–4	Philadelphia Flyers	28–41–7–3	66
80	April 2	Minnesota Wild	0–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	29–41–7–3	68
81	April 4	Detroit Red Wings	5–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	29–41–8–3	69
82	April 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–4	Minnesota Wild	29–42–8–3	69

• Green background indicates a win.
• Red background indicates a regulation loss.
• Yellow background indicates an overtime loss.
• White background indicates a tie.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Ray Whitney	LW	81	24	52	76	22	-26	8	2	2
Andrew Cassels	C	79	20	48	68	30	-4	9	1	5
Geoff Sanderson	LW	82	34	33	67	34	-4	15	2	2
David Vyborny	RW	79	20	26	46	16	12	4	1	4
Jaroslav Spacek	D	81	9	36	45	70	-23	5	0	1
Mike Sillinger	C	75	18	25	43	52	-21	9	3	3
Rick Nash	LW	74	17	22	39	78	-27	6	0	2
Tyler Wright	C	70	19	11	30	113	-25	3	2	3
Grant Marshall	RW	66	8	20	28	71	-8	3	0	2
Lasse Pirjeta	C	51	11	10	21	12	-4	2	0	2
Derrick Walser	D	53	4	13	17	34	-9	3	0	2
Rostislav Klesla	D	72	2	14	16	71	-22	0	0	0
Sean Pronger	C	78	7	6	13	72	-26	1	0	0
Luke Richardson	D	82	0	13	13	73	-16	0	0	0
Espen Knutsen	C	31	5	4	9	20	-15	3	0	1
Matt Davidson	RW	34	4	5	9	18	-12	0	0	0
Hannes Hyvonen	RW	36	4	5	9	22	-11	0	0	0
Duvie Westcott	D	39	0	7	7	77	-3	0	0	0
David Ling	RW	35	3	2	5	86	-6	0	0	0
Jody Shelley	LW	68	1	4	5	249	-5	0	0	0
Tomi Kallio	LW	12	1	2	3	8	-7	0	0	0
Darren Van Impe	D	14	1	1	2	10	-6	0	1	0
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre	D	41	1	0	1	64	-6	0	0	0
Jamie Allison	D	48	0	1	1	99	-15	0	0	0
Scott Lachance	D	61	0	1	1	46	-20	0	0	0
Andrej Nedorost	LW	12	0	1	1	4	-6	0	0	0
Blake Bellefeuille	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mathieu Darche	LW	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Marc Denis	G	77	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0
Kevin Dineen	RW	4	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	0
Jean-Francois Labbe	G	11	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Paul Manning	D	8	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Kent McDonell	RW	3	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Darrel Scoville	D	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Marc Denis	4511	77	27	41	8	232	3.09	5	2404	2172	.903
Jean-Francois Labbe	451	11	2	4	0	27	3.59	0	233	206	.884
Team:	4962	82	29	45	8	259	3.13	5	2637	2378	.902

Draft picks

Columbus' draft picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft:

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	1	Rick Nash	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
2	41	Joakim Lindstrom	Sweden	Modo Hockey (Sweden)
3	65	Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	Norway	Lillehammer IK (Norway)
3	96	Jeff Genovy	United States	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
4	98	Ivan Tkachenko	Russia	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia)
4	119	Jekabs Redlihs	Latvia	New York Applecore (EJHL)
5	133	Lasse Pirjeta	Finland	Karpat (Finland)
6	168	Tim Konsorada	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
6	184	Jaroslav Balastik	Czech Republic	Continental Zlin (Czech Republic)
7	199	Greg Mauldin	United States	University of Massachusetts Amherst (Hockey East)
7	225	Steve Goertzen	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
8	231	Jaroslav Kracik	Czech Republic	HC Plzen (Czech Republic)
9	263	Sergei Mozyakin	Russia	CSKA Moscow (Russia)

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007