The Columbus Blue Jackets have 30 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #30.
Let's take a look at today's edition, which is all about goalies.
Marc Denis - 2001-2006 - Drafted by Colorado in 1995.
On June 7, 2000, Denis was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Over the course of five years, he played in 266 games, going 84-146-25. On June 30, 2006, Denis was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena. He set the then-NHL record for most minutes in a season with 4,511, playing 77 regular-season games for Columbus in 2002-03.
After the 2008-09 season, Denis retired after playing for the Montréal Canadiens and the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. He is currently working as a color analyst for the Canadiens on RDS.
Fredrik Norrena - 2007-2009 - Drafted by Tampa Bay in 2002.
On June 30, 2006, Norrena was traded to the CBJ for Marc Denis. He would play in a total of 100 games, starting 35 of them. He finished his time in Columbus with a record of 35-45-11.
In 2008, the Jackets put him on waivers and reported to Syracuse. On December 20, he signed a deal in the KHL and left North America for good. After playing for years in Sweden and Finland, he would retire. After retiring, he would go into coaching, where he would coach in Finland from 2014 to 2023. He is now an asst. coach for Kölner Haie in the DEL.
Dan LaCosta - 2009 - Drafted by Columbus in 2004.
LaCosta played a total of four NHL games for Columbus. After Columbus, he played two years for the Univ. of New Brunswick and then a year for the Cardiff Devils in the EIHL. He was also a goaltending coach for Cardiff.
LaCosta played in four games from 2007 to 2009. He spent the majority of his time playing for the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. He also played for the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL.
He retired in 2014 after playing a single season in England for the Cardiff Devils. He was also the goaltending coach for Cardiff.
Curtis Sanford - 2012 - Undrafted out of Owen Sound, Ontario.
Sanford signed a one-year contract with Columbus for the 11-12 season. He appeared in 36 games, going 10-18-4.
After his one year in Columbus, he left for Russia, playing for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for three seasons. He would retire on March 7, 2015. He spent the last years as the goaltending coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Mike McKenna - 2014 - Drafted by Nashville in 2002.
On July 5, 2013, McKenna signed with Columbus, appearing in four games. He spent the bulk of the year playing for the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.
He would go on to play for the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, and Philadelphia Flyers. On August 27, 2019, McKenna retired. He also spent two years as a studio analyst for the Vegas Golden Knights, and three years as a Volunteer Goaltending Coach at St. Lawrence Univ.
Curtis McElhinney - 2015-2017 - Drafted by Calgary in 2002.
McElhinney could have been listed as the player who wore #31 the best. He started 66 games for the Jackets and came in to relieve the starters another 19 times. His career record with Columbus was 26-33-8. He went on to win a pair of Stanley Cups for the Tampa Bay Lightning, backing up starter Andrei Vasilevskiy. He retired on September 25, 2021.
He was the Toronto Maple Leafs Dir. of Goaltending from 2023 to 2025.
Jean-François Bérubé - 2022 - Drafted by the LA Kings in 2009.
On June 27, 2018, Bérubé was traded by the Blackhawks to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jordan Schroeder. He would play in 6 games for Columbus and go 3-2.
He would leave Columbus after that season and play two more AHL seasons. He is not officially retired.
Spencer Martin - 2024 - Drafted by Colorado in 2013.
On September 29, 2023, the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed Martin off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. He would play in 13 games and go 3-8-1.
On January 19, 2024, he was put on waivers by Columbus and claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes. He left for the KHL's CSKA Moskva for the 25-26 season.
With 30 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena, the anticipation for the season is in full swing. Take a look at the schedule of events below.
Blue Jackets Participate in 2025 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo
The Blue Jackets will take part in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo from Thursday, Sept. 11, to Sunday, Sept. 14. They’ll play three games and have one day off.
The schedule looks like this:
Friday, Sept. 12 - No Game Scheduled
Saturday, Sept. 13 - 7 p.m. at Buffalo Sabres
Sunday, Sept. 14 - 3:30 p.m. at Pittsburgh Penguins
This will be the second year Columbus has participated in the Prospects Challenge. Before that, they played in the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City. As for the roster, it won’t be released until closer to the tournament.
Let us know what you think below.
Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!
Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.
More from THN Columbus
On This Date In 2023: The Mike Babcock Allegations SurfaceOn this date in 2023, a little over two months after the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Mike Babcock, some bombshell allegations were brought to light by the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that completely derailed the beginning of the CBJ's upcoming season.
Blue Jackets' Don Waddell Shares Latest On Yegor Chinakhov In a recent article for The Athletic, Aaron Portzline had the chance to interview Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell. In the interview, he asked about the status of Yegor Chinakhov after the reported trade request from earlier this off-season.
31 Days Until Opening Night At NWA: The History Of Jersey #31The Columbus Blue Jackets have 31 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #31.