. They are based in Columbus, Ohio. In their first draft, the Blue Jackets picked Rick Tabaracci, Lyle Odelein, Geoff Sanderson and Rostislav Klesla. They played their first regular season game on October 7, 2000 against the Chicago Blackhawks which they lost. The first ever goal of the franchise was scored by Bruce Gardiner.

In 2002, a 13 year old girl, Brittanie Cecil died after a puck hit by Espen Knutsen struck her head while she was watching the game. Since then all NHL arenas have a nylon mesh behind the goals to prevent such an accident to occur again. The team also wore helmets with small red hearts with BNC written on them in her memory. In the same season, the Jackets improved their record and seemed to be in contention for making the playoffs but eventually they fell back to finish at the bottom of their division. Head Coach Dave King who had been with them since the beginning was fired.

The next few seasons were not very different. In 2004, they finished with their second lowest total of 62 points. Rick Nash was the only bright spot as he scored 41 goals and tied with two players from other teams for the Rocket Richard Trophy. In 2005, the Jackets looked all set to advance to the playoffs. Unfortunately, injuries struck their star players like Nash and Rostislav Klesla ruining their chances. Though they acquired Sergei Fedorov from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, they still could not make the playoffs. They finished the regular season securing the third place in their division.

In 2006, the Blue Jackets acquired players like Fredrik Modin, Pascal Leclaire and Anson Carter. Gerard Gallant was released as head coach and Ken Hitchcock took over the mantle in November. In 2007, the changes to the team continued as Doug MacLean who had been the first President and General Manager was fired. Mike Priest became the new President and a few months later Scott Howson took over as General Manager.

The Blue Jackets are the only active team which has never made the Stanley Cup playoffs. The present team captain is Adam Foote since 2005. Their home arena is the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The team colors are red, blue and white. The team is owned by John H. McConnell. The name of the team was chosen as a reminder of the Civil War history and patriotism which had been prevalent in Ohio. Three players from the original draft are still playing in the current team. They are Jody Shelley, Rostislav Klesla and David Vyborny.