The Columbus Blue Jackets have 4 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Jersey #4 is one of the more popular numbers to be worn.

Let's take a look at who wore 4, and where they are now

Lyle Odelein - 2001-2002 - Drafted by Montreal in 1986. 

The first-ever Captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Odelein played 146 games and had 33 points. He retired in 2006 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Bryan Berard - 2006-2007 - Drafted by Ottawa in 1995. 

Berard played 55 games as a Blue Jacket and had 35 points. The former #1 overall pick in 1995 had an up-and-down career and retired in 2009 after playing a year in the KHL.

Clay Wilson - 2008-2009 - Undrafted out of Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota.

Wilson played 7 games in Columbus and had three points. He retired in 2020 after playing one season in the Ukraine. 

Nathan Paetsch - 2010 - Drafted by Washington in 2001 and then drafted by Buffalo in 2003. (re-entry)

He played 10 games as a Jacket and had zero points. He never played another NHL game after Columbus and retired in 2019 after spending several seasons in the AHL. 

Sami Lepistö - 2011 - Drafted by Washington in 2004. 

Lepistö played 19 games and had 5 points. He left for Europe in 2012 and played there until he retired in 2023. 

John Moore - 2012-2013 - Drafted by Columbus in 2009.

Moore only played 86 games in Columbus and had 8 points. On April 3, 2013, Moore was included in the Derick Brassard deal with the New York Rangers that brought Marián Gáborík to Columbus. 

He last played for the Anaheim Ducks.

On March 19, 2022, Moore was involved in a trade that sent him to the Anaheim Ducks along with Urho Vaakanainen in exchange for Hampus Lindholm. The Ducks then attempted to trade both Moore and the rest of Ryan Kesler's contract to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov and a conditional second-round pick at the NHL trade deadline on March 21, 2022. However, the deal was disputed due to a no-trade clause in Dadonov's contract. On March 23, the NHL officially cancelled the trade; therefore, Moore remained in the Ducks' organization.  

Kevin Connauton - 2015-2016 - Drafted by Vancouver in 2009. 

Connauton played 81 games and has 27 points as a CBJ. He currently plays for the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL.

Scott Harrington - 2018-2022 - Drafted by Pittsburgh in 2011

Harrington played 185 games for the Blue Jackets after being traded to Columbus by Toronto with a conditional pick in 2017 NHL Draft for Kerby Rychel on June 25, 2016. Those 185 games would be spread out over six seasons, with 2018-19 being the year he played the most games at 73. He scored 7 goals and totaled 37 points in his career with Columbus, with the 18-19 season being his most productive with 17.   

During his time in the Columbus organization, he would also play 52 games for the Cleveland Monsters, scoring 7 total points. 

Harrington would sign with San Jose in 2022 and then be traded to New Jersey in February of 2023. New Jersey would then put him on waivers a few days later, where he would be picked up by Anaheim and play 17 games. 

In 2023, Harrington would leave for Europe and play for the ZSC Lions of the Swiss League. After playing just 14 games in 23-24, he would return to North America for the 24-25 season and play for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. 

Harrington is signed to play with the Belleville Senators of the AHL for this season. 

Vladislav Gavrikov - 2023 - Gavrikov was drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Gavrikov played 256 games for the Jackets over the course of 4 seasons. He totaled 15 goals and 73 points. Gavrikov is widely considered one of the best late-round picks to ever play for the Jackets, despite his short time in Columbus. He played great defense and would always seem to show up on the scoreboard. 

After he signed a three-year, $8.4 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets in November of 2020, former GM Jarmo Kekäläinen would make the decision to trade Gavrikov to the LA Kings in March of 2023. A decision that a lot of CBJ hated and wondered why it happened. Kekäläinen knew Gavrikov was going to want a hefty raise and didn't want to pay him. 

Gavrikov signed a two-year extension with LA just a couple months after the trade. In the summer of 2025, Gavrikov would get his big contract. He signed a 7-year. $49-million deal with the New York Rangers, which will take him into his mid-30s. 

Cole Sillinger - 2024-2025 -Drafted in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Silinger wore #34 for two years before switching to #4 before the 23-24 season. It's hard to believe that Cole Sillinger is going into his 5th NHL Season already. 

After scoring 31 points as a rookie, his second season was anything but good. Totaling just 11 points, he only played in 64 games and was demoted to AHL Cleveland. His third season was definitely a bounce-back year for young Sillinger. He would score 13 goals and total 32 points. 

Last season, even though his point total was just one better than the career-high 32 he hit the year before, it was considered a breakout year for Cole. He had 11 goals, which was 5 off of his career-high of 16, but he had 22 assists, which set a new career-high. He also set a career-high by playing 16:55 a game. He is the kind of player that Dean Evason loves. 

Sillinger is going into the final year of a two-year deal he signed a couple of years back, and then he will be an RFA. He will be looking to have another good year so that he can get a long-term deal. How many points will he get in 25-26?

He will more than likely be asked to play the wing as well as center if needed. Should he be willing to play anywhere, he could be an extremely valuable player for the Blue Jackets. 

There are four days left until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Who was your favorite #4?

Let us know what you think below.

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