2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets season

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.

2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division5th Central
Conference15th Western
2002–03 record29–42–8–3
Home record20–14–5–2
Road record9–28–3–1
Goals for213
Goals against263
Team information
General managerDoug MacLean
CoachDave King (Oct-Jan)
Doug MacLean (Jan-Apr)
CaptainRay Whitney
ArenaNationwide Arena
Average attendance17,744
Team leaders
GoalsGeoff Sanderson (34)
AssistsRay Whitney (52)
PointsRay Whitney (76)
Penalty minutesJody Shelley (249)
WinsMarc Denis (27)
Goals against averageMarc Denis (3.09)

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
12Detroit Red Wings824820104269203110
25St. Louis Blues82412411625322299
39Chicago Blackhawks82303313620722679
413Nashville Predators82273513718320674
515Columbus Blue Jackets8229428321326369

[1]

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
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 10Chicago Blackhawks1–2Columbus Blue Jackets1–0–0–02
2October 12Columbus Blue Jackets2–3New Jersey Devils1–1–0–02
3October 14Phoenix Coyotes4–2Columbus Blue Jackets1–2–0–02
4October 17Columbus Blue Jackets1–7St. Louis Blues1–3–0–02
5October 19Florida Panthers1–4Columbus Blue Jackets2–3–0–04
6October 23Tampa Bay Lightning2–2Columbus Blue Jackets2–3–1–05
7October 25San Jose Sharks5–4Columbus Blue Jackets2–4–1–05
8October 27Los Angeles Kings1–5Columbus Blue Jackets3–4–1–07
9October 29Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Chicago Blackhawks3–5–1–07
10November 1Dallas Stars2–4Columbus Blue Jackets4–5–1–09
11November 3Buffalo Sabres2–3Columbus Blue Jackets5–5–1–011
12November 5Washington Capitals4–3Columbus Blue Jackets5–5–1–112
13November 7Columbus Blue Jackets5–2St. Louis Blues6–5–1–114
14November 9New York Rangers3–6Columbus Blue Jackets7–5–1–116
15November 12Columbus Blue Jackets4–5Colorado Avalanche7–6–1–116
16November 14Mighty Ducks of Anaheim3–2Columbus Blue Jackets7–7–1–116
17November 16Columbus Blue Jackets1–1Nashville Predators7–7–2–117
18November 17Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Dallas Stars7–7–2–218
19November 20St. Louis Blues2–3Columbus Blue Jackets8–7–2–220
20November 22Columbus Blue Jackets4–5Buffalo Sabres8–8–2–220
21November 23Columbus Blue Jackets2–5Ottawa Senators8–9–2–220
22November 27Edmonton Oilers3–1Columbus Blue Jackets8–10–2–220
23November 29Columbus Blue Jackets4–2New York Islanders9–10–2–222
24November 30Carolina Hurricanes4–2Columbus Blue Jackets9–11–2–222
25December 3Columbus Blue Jackets3–5New York Rangers9–12–2–222
26December 6Columbus Blue Jackets2–3San Jose Sharks9–13–2–222
27December 7Columbus Blue Jackets4–2Los Angeles Kings10–13–2–224
28December 9Columbus Blue Jackets2–2Phoenix Coyotes10–13–3–225
29December 12New Jersey Devils2–4Columbus Blue Jackets11–13–3–227
30December 14Columbus Blue Jackets4–6Detroit Red Wings11–14–3–227
31December 19Calgary Flames0–3Columbus Blue Jackets12–14–3–229
32December 20Columbus Blue Jackets1–3Chicago Blackhawks12–15–3–229
33December 23Detroit Red Wings1–0Columbus Blue Jackets12–16–3–229
34December 26Columbus Blue Jackets2–4Detroit Red Wings12–17–3–229
35December 28St. Louis Blues6–1Columbus Blue Jackets12–18–3–229
36December 29Columbus Blue Jackets2–5St. Louis Blues12–19–3–229
37December 31Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Columbus Blue Jackets13–19–3–231
38January 3Columbus Blue Jackets2–2Washington Capitals13–19–4–232
39January 4Phoenix Coyotes0–2Columbus Blue Jackets14–19–4–234
40January 6Nashville Predators5–1Columbus Blue Jackets14–20–4–234
41January 8Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Minnesota Wild15–20–4–236
42January 10Columbus Blue Jackets3–2Vancouver Canucks16–20–4–238
43January 11Columbus Blue Jackets7–2Calgary Flames17–20–4–240
44January 13Columbus Blue Jackets5–8Edmonton Oilers17–21–4–240
45January 15Mighty Ducks of Anaheim4–3Columbus Blue Jackets17–22–4–240
46January 18Columbus Blue Jackets2–7Boston Bruins17–23–4–240
47January 20Chicago Blackhawks1–5Columbus Blue Jackets18–23–4–242
48January 22Columbus Blue Jackets2–4Dallas Stars18–24–4–242
49January 23Columbus Blue Jackets0–5Colorado Avalanche18–25–4–242
50January 25New York Islanders1–4Columbus Blue Jackets19–25–4–244
51January 28Colorado Avalanche2–2Columbus Blue Jackets19–25–5–245
52January 30Nashville Predators1–2Columbus Blue Jackets20–25–5–247
53February 5Vancouver Canucks4–4Columbus Blue Jackets20–25–6–248
54February 8Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Nashville Predators20–26–6–248
55February 12San Jose Sharks0–1Columbus Blue Jackets21–26–6–250
56February 13Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Montreal Canadiens22–26–6–252
57February 15Chicago Blackhawks7–1Columbus Blue Jackets22–27–6–252
58February 18Columbus Blue Jackets2–5Phoenix Coyotes22–28–6–252
59February 19Columbus Blue Jackets0–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim22–29–6–252
60February 21Columbus Blue Jackets0–6San Jose Sharks22–30–6–252
61February 23Columbus Blue Jackets2–7Vancouver Canucks22–31–6–252
62February 25Columbus Blue Jackets0–5Nashville Predators22–32–6–252
63February 27Los Angeles Kings1–3Columbus Blue Jackets23–32–6–254
64March 1Edmonton Oilers3–3Columbus Blue Jackets23–32–7–255
65March 3Detroit Red Wings3–2Columbus Blue Jackets23–33–7–255
66March 6Vancouver Canucks4–5Columbus Blue Jackets24–33–7–257
67March 8Calgary Flames3–2Columbus Blue Jackets24–33–7–358
68March 10Columbus Blue Jackets5–6Carolina Hurricanes24–34–7–358
69March 11Dallas Stars2–0Columbus Blue Jackets24–35–7–358
70March 13Colorado Avalanche5–1Columbus Blue Jackets24–36–7–358
71March 15Minnesota Wild0–5Columbus Blue Jackets25–36–7–360
72March 17Columbus Blue Jackets2–3Atlanta Thrashers25–37–7–360
73March 20Toronto Maple Leafs3–4Columbus Blue Jackets26–37–7–362
74March 22Atlanta Thrashers3–2Columbus Blue Jackets26–38–7–362
75March 24Columbus Blue Jackets0–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim26–39–7–362
76March 25Columbus Blue Jackets2–1Los Angeles Kings27–39–7–364
77March 28Columbus Blue Jackets0–4Edmonton Oilers27–40–7–364
78March 29Columbus Blue Jackets6–4Calgary Flames28–40–7–366
79April 1Columbus Blue Jackets0–4Philadelphia Flyers28–41–7–366
80April 2Minnesota Wild0–3Columbus Blue Jackets29–41–7–368
81April 4Detroit Red Wings5–5Columbus Blue Jackets29–41–8–369
82April 6Columbus Blue Jackets3–4Minnesota Wild29–42–8–369
  • 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 WhitneyLW8124527622-26822
Andrew CasselsC7920486830-4915
Geoff SandersonLW8234336734-41522
David VybornyRW792026461612414
Jaroslav SpacekD819364570-23501
Mike SillingerC7518254352-21933
Rick NashLW7417223978-27602
Tyler WrightC70191130113-25323
Grant MarshallRW668202871-8302
Lasse PirjetaC5111102112-4202
Derrick WalserD534131734-9302
Rostislav KleslaD722141671-22000
Sean ProngerC78761372-26100
Luke RichardsonD820131373-16000
Espen KnutsenC3154920-15301
Matt DavidsonRW3445918-12000
Hannes HyvonenRW3645922-11000
Duvie WestcottD3907777-3000
David LingRW3532586-6000
Jody ShelleyLW68145249-5000
Tomi KallioLW121238-7000
Darren Van ImpeD1411210-6010
Jean-Luc Grand-PierreD4110164-6000
Jamie AllisonD4801199-15000
Scott LachanceD6101146-20000
Andrej NedorostLW120114-6000
Blake BellefeuilleC300000000
Mathieu DarcheLW10000-1000
Marc DenisG7700060000
Kevin DineenRW4000120000
Jean-Francois LabbeG1100020000
Paul ManningD800020000
Kent McDonellRW30000-1000
Darrel ScovilleD200040000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Marc Denis451177274182323.09524042172.903
Jean-Francois Labbe45111240273.590233206.884
Team:496282294582593.13526372378.902

Draft picks

Columbus' draft picks at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft:

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
11Rick Nash CanadaLondon Knights (OHL)
241Joakim Lindstrom SwedenModo Hockey (Sweden)
365Ole-Kristian Tollefsen NorwayLillehammer IK (Norway)
396Jeff Genovy United StatesDes Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
498Ivan Tkachenko RussiaLokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia)
4119Jekabs Redlihs LatviaNew York Applecore (EJHL)
5133Lasse Pirjeta FinlandKarpat (Finland)
6168Tim Konsorada CanadaBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
6184Jaroslav Balastik Czech RepublicContinental Zlin (Czech Republic)
7199Greg Mauldin United StatesUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst (Hockey East)
7225Steve Goertzen CanadaSeattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
8231Jaroslav Kracik Czech RepublicHC Plzen (Czech Republic)
9263Sergei Mozyakin RussiaCSKA Moscow (Russia)

References
  1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 162.
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