The Blue Jackets are a young team, founded as an expansion team in 2000 and not qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs until 2009. When the Cleveland Barons left Ohio in 1978, no one knew that it would take 22 years before the state would host another NHL team. On June 25, 1997, the NHL announced that Columbus would receive a new franchise; a decision prompted by the May 31 announcement from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company that they would foot the bill for a new 0-million arena in Columbus.
The name and logo of the Blue Jackets are rooted in Ohio's rich Civil War history and was choose to celebrate patriotism, pride and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio. When President Abraham Lincoln asked Ohio to raise ten regiments at the outbreak of the Civil War, the Ohio residents responded by forming no less than 23 volunteer infantry regiments.
The team logo is a stylized version of the flag of Ohio swirled around a start while the sweaters sport a Civil War cap with crossed hockey sticks. The official team mascot is a 6 foot 9 inch bright green bug named Stinger that can be seen walking among the spectators during the games and skating around on the ice between periods wearing a team jersey.
At the request of the fans, the Blue Jackets organization purchased a hand-made replica of an 1867 Napoleon cannon and placed it in the Nationwide Arena as the 2007-08 season begun. Since then, the Blue Jacket cannon has been fired at the start of all home games. The cannon will also salute each time the team scores a home goal and when the home team wins a game. During its inaugural season, it was fired no less than 164 times.
The cannon has become an integral part of Blue Jacket fan culture. The cannon is loaded with smoke flash charges and the loud boom is produced by a .75oz concussion explosive placed above the rink. When the cannon is fired, the accompanying music "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) by AC/DC can be heard throughout the arena.
As mentioned above, the Blue Jackets secured their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth ever in 2009 by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks with 4-3 on April 8. The team had made several advantageous trades during the 2008 off season, including getting Raffi Torres in exchange for Gilbert Brule and trading Nikolai Zherdey and Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers in exchange for Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman. During the 2008-09 NHL season Jason Williams was received in exchange for Clay Wilson and a sixth-round draft pick. The team also became a part of the first major deal of the 2009 NHL Trade Deadline by receiving Antoine Vermette from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick.
No comments:
Post a Comment