The Blue Jackets are a young franchise but have had their fair share of tough guys.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have had to fight a good share since they started in 2000. Teams seemed to want to take advantage of the Blue Jackets. The answer to this was to bring in some heavy hitters such as Jody Shelley and Jared Boll, as well as former Captain Nick Foligno. Their fighting majors went up significantly last season, and most likely will continue as an influx of new players will need protection.
Jared Boll – 518GP | 1195 PIMS | 154 fights (with CBJ)
Jared Boll was a big man in his playing days. Standing 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, there weren’t too many who would willingly step up to Boll. He was an old-school enforcer who would not hesitate to stand up for his teammates and take one on the chin if necessary. In his career, he fought the St Louis Blues more than any other team. He had four seasons where he had fight totals over 20 and there were a few seasons that were 15+. His most common opponent was Krys Bach (5), and he fought the likes of Paul Bissonnette (4), George Parros (4), and Clayton Stoner. Boll is the best enforcer the CBJ has ever had.
Jody Shelley – 380GP | 1025 PIMS | 119 fights (With CBJ)
Jody Shelley is the Original Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer. On February 17th, 2001, he was called up for his NHL debut. In that game, he fought two Pittsburgh Penguins, Steve McKenna, and Krzysztof Oliwa, and would instantly become a Blue Jacket legend. It would be the only game he played that season. He would go on to fight 119 times in his CBJ career. He had seasons where he fought 28 times, 27 and 30. In seven years with Columbus, he had 29 total points, in one season he had 30 fights alone. During those seasons of 28, 27, and 30 fights, he had over 206 PIMS in all three seasons. He was even given the honor of fighting legendary enforcer Bob Probert on four occasions. Off the ice, Shelley is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
Derek Dorsett – 280GP | 737 PIMS | 60 fights (with CBJ)
Derek Dorsett was not an overly huge man. Standing at 6 feet tall and weighing around 192 pounds, he wasn’t your typical enforcer. But one thing Dorsett would always do was protect his teammates and get the crowd going with a good brawl. He only played four and half seasons with the Jackets, but his time here was memorable. He had seasons that saw him fight 12, 17, and 19 times. He would amass 235 PIMS during the 2011-12 season, a season that most CBJ fans would like to forget. He had to retire in 2017 due to injuries, but he is still a fan favorite in Columbus.
Nick Foligno – 599GP | 466 PIMS | 27 fights (with CBJ)
Although not identified as an enforcer, Captain Nick Foligno was a tough man who would stick up for his teammates and fight. He did his job very well as the captain. He also had a few fights where he would lay the other guy out with one punch. He would typically fight teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He didn’t have a typical rival that he fought all the time like the others on this list. He simply picked his fights as they were needed.
David Ling – 90GP | 191 PIMS | 23 fights (with CBJ)
David Ling is a forgotten tough guy for the Blue Jackets. Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing in at 204 pounds, he was a bulldog type of player. Ling had seasons where he fought 10 and 12 times. He fought guys like Jarkko Ruutu and Jeremy Stevenson, as well as Jordin Tootoo. He played alongside Jody Shelley during the two seasons where he was fighting a lot. Having those two on the same team had to be pretty intimidating for other teams, knowing that at any time, you may be called to fight one of these guys.