A total of 9 players have jersey #19 since the start of the franchise
The Columbus Blue Jackets have had many players don the Union Blue in its history. The #19 has only been worn a handful of times though.
Let's look at the players that have worn the number.
Who Wore It First?
- Mathieu Darche - Darche played 24 games for the CBJ over their first three seasons, totaling two points. He is now the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Ops for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Who Wore It Last?
- Adam Fantilli - Technically I'm breaking my own rules for this series. Fantilli wore #11 last season and switched to #19 for this season. But since there is absolutely zero chance he not wear the number, I included him. The soon-to-be second-year center played in 49 games last season before going down with a serious injury. He scored 12 goals and had 27 points. Check again in 3 or 4 years and Fantilli will be the best player to have worn #19.
Who Wore It Best?
- Ryan Johansen - Johansen was supposed to be the center of the future in Columbus, and he was until John Tortorella came to town. Johansen played 309 games for the Jackets and had 193 points, including back-to-back seasons with 63 and 71 points respectively. He was traded to the Nashville Predators for Seth Jones in 2016, where he played 533 games for the Preds. He was never able to replicate his 71-point season from 2014-15 and hit a 64-point high for the Preds in 2019. Johansen is currently embroiled in some drama with the Philadelphia Flyers. On August 20, 2024, He was placed on unconditional waivers following material breach of contract.
Others That Have Worn #19
- Sean Pronger - The brother of Hall of Famer Chris Pronger played 104 games in Columbus and had 17 points. He retired in 2005 after playing in Germany.
- Brian Holzinger - He played 13 games as a Jacket in 03-04 and had one point. The Parma, Ohio native was traded to Columbus in 2003 and never played another NHL game after that season. He retired in 2003.
- Joe Motzko - Motzko played 11 games with the Jackets over three seasons where he had one point. He left for Germany in 2009 and retired in 2014.
- Alexandre Picard - Picard was drafted 8th overall in 2004 by Columbus. He played 67 games over five seasons and had two points. He never played another NHL game after Columbus. After leaving for Europe, he returned to North America in 2019 to play in The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, a semi-professional ice hockey league based in Quebec, where he still plays today.
- Michael Peca - Peca played 136 games from 2007 to 2009 and had 56 points. After his time in Columbus, he never played another NHL game and retired in 2009.
- Ethan Moreau - Played 37 games for the CBJ in 2010-11 and had six points. The former Edmonton Oilers Captain and 08-09 King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner retired in 2012.
- Ryan Dzingel - The former Ohio State Buckeye played 21 games as a Blue Jacket in 2019 and had 12 points. He played in the AHL last season for Henderson and currently doesn't have a contract.
- Liam Foudy - Foudy played 90 games as a Jacket in five seasons, scoring 7 goals and totaling 19 points. He also had 35 points in 41 career games for Cleveland. He was put on waivers last season and picked up by Nashville.
Who is your favorite #19? Please share your thoughts on our forum.
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