The Columbus Blue Jackets have cycled through plenty of goaltenders since 2000, but only 13 have managed to appear in more than 20 games. That leaves a long list of short-term fill-ins, one-off appearances, and brief cameos in Union Blue.
When it comes to the most obscure names to ever get into a game for Columbus, Brian Boucher makes the cut right away. Yes, that Brian Boucher.
He played three games for the Jackets in March 2007, finished 1-1, gave up nine goals, and put up a 3.79 goals-against average with a .866 save percentage. He later went on to play six more seasons in the NHL.
Fred Brathwaite also belongs on the list. He appeared in 21 games for Columbus in the 2003-04 season and went 4-11-1 with a 3.37 GAA and a .897 save percentage. After that stretch with the Blue Jackets, he never played in the NHL again.
Wade Dubielewicz had a similarly brief run. From January to March of 2009, he played in three games for Columbus, went 1-2, allowed 10 goals, and posted a 3.56 GAA with a .870 save percentage. He would only play three more NHL games after leaving the Jackets.
David LeNeveu’s Blue Jackets stint was even shorter. He got into one game on April 3, 2011, gave up two goals to the Blues on 12 shots, and finished with a 6.00 GAA and a .833 save percentage. That was his only NHL game with Columbus, and he never appeared in another NHL game after that.
Ty Conklin rounds out the group. He played 11 games for the Jackets during the 2006-07 season, finished with a 2-3-2 record, allowed 27 goals, and recorded a 3.30 GAA along with a .871 save percentage. He went on to play five more NHL seasons after his time in Columbus.
The bigger point is simple: backup goalies matter, and sometimes teams need a third or even fourth netminder to step in for a spell. Over the years, Columbus has had that kind of revolving door in net.
Looking ahead, the Jackets’ goalie prospect pool isn’t especially deep, though they do have two young Russians who will be about 4-5 years apart. In Cleveland, they also have Evan Gardner and Nolan LaLonde. Gardner is projected to have a better career than LaLonde, but the next few years will decide how that shakes out.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Goalie Prospect Timeline Just Took An Unexpected Turn
The Blue Jackets goalie pipeline took a small but notable detour with Sergei Ivanov, who had already signed his entry-level deal and now appears set to spend one more season with SKA St. Petersburg before coming over to North America. For Columbus, it is less a setback than a delay, but it does push back the point when the organization can get a closer look at a prospect it has been tracking as part of its long-term depth in net.
Around the league, there is no shortage of summer loose ends, either. Matvei Michkov has been back home in Russia working with a trainer and is expected back in the Philadelphia area in early August to keep building toward camp, while the Flyers and Trevor Zegras are headed for an arbitration hearing next week with no fresh contract agreement in sight. For a Blue Jackets team trying to sort out its own future in goal, Ivanovs timeline now sits alongside a few other reminders that plenty of roster business still has to be sorted before September arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Don Waddell Just Addressed The Zach Werenski Tension Columbus Felt
The Zach Werenski chatter that swirled around Columbus this week had more to do with outside noise than any real fracture inside the organization, according to general manager Don Waddell. He said the trade speculation did not match the private conversations the Blue Jackets were having, and the bigger picture remains the same: Werenski is still central to what the team wants to build after a Norris Trophy-winning season.
Waddell also made clear that Werenskis focus has stayed on Columbus and on helping the Blue Jackets get back to the playoffs. For a team trying to move past years of frustration, that matters as much as any rumor cycle, especially when it involves one of the leagues top defensemen and a player the front office still views as part of the solution. [Read more 🡒]