[Gotham Dark Knight]

With the Expansion Draft and Entry Draft behind them, and after hiring former Calgary coach Dave King as their first coach, the Columbus Blue Jackets entered their first season.

In September of 2000, the grand opening of the Nationwide Arena takes place, and to no one’s surprise, it’s a sellout. Of course, they are there to see country music superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The duo is able to play better then the newly formed team.

Needing a ton of practice before they could match strides with McGraw and Hill, the team opens up their first training camp. Perhaps not wanting to be forgotten by their fans, they do not wonder very far from home, deciding to train next to the Nationwide Arena at the CoreComm Ice Haus.

Soon after the Pittsburgh Penguins becomes the answer to the all important trivia question, who was the first team to play Columbus in the preseason. Who won is not worth mentioning. If you really need to know, go dig up the history of the Penguin franchise.


A month (minus a day) later, the team is ready for their first NHL regular season game. Before a screaming sellout crowd of over 18,000 fans the Blue Jackets take a 3-0 lead against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period. Not realizing that it takes three periods of play to win a game, the team blows the lead and loses 3-5.


Three weeks later they would get their first victory at the Nationwide arena. Of course, the fact that they had won on the road prior to that makes it a bit anti climactic. But still, behind the goaltending of Marc Denis, the boys in blue down the Capitals 3-1.


The team goes on to get 28 victories and a not too shabby 71 points in their first season of play. Geoff Sanderson gets himself a team leading 30 goals, and amazingly enough ends the season with a +4 rating. Defenseman Deron Quint doesn’t fair as well. Staying on the ice for oa team leading 24 minutes a game, Quint ends up with a –19 rating.


Alas, the team would meet with greater disappointment their second season.