The Columbus Blue Jackets have 34 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #34. Let's take a look. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre - 2001-2004 - Drafted in 1997 by the St. Louis Blues. Grand-Pierre was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft. He would spend three-plus seasons in Columbus, playing in 209 games. The "Hyphenator," as he is affectionately known, is now an analyst for the Blue Jackets during CBJ games. He retired after the 2012-13 season, having spent the final five years of his career in Europe. Dan LaCosta - 2008 - Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2004 NHL Draft. 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. Wade Dubielewicz - 2009 - He was undrafted out of Invermere, British Columbia. The Blue Jackets claimed Dubielwicz off waivers from the New York Islanders in 2009. He played in three games for Columbus. He signed with the Minnesota Wild in the summer of 2009 after his time with Columbus. He retired in 2011 after playing a single season in the DEL. He went on to become a goaltending coach and GM for the Columbia Valley Rockies. Dane Byers - 2012 - Drafted in the second round of the 2004 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers. On November 11, 2010, Byers was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he was then assigned to the Springfield Falcons. He played a total of 8 games for Columbus. On February 28, 2011. Byers and former CBJ original Rusty Klesla were dealt to the Arizona Coyotes. On July 11, 2011, however, he signed back with the CBJ for one season. He left for Europe in 2015 and retired in 2019. Nick Drazenovic - 2013 - Drafted in the 5th round of the 2005 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues. Drazenovic signed with the CBJ in 2011 and played a total of 8 games with Columbus. He spent his entire first year with Columbus playing for Springfield. The following year, he played 62 games for the Falcons as well. He left for Pittsburgh in 2013 and would retire in 2016. Dana Tyrell - 2015 - Drafted in the second round of the 2007 NHL Draft by Tampa Bay. On March 5, 2014, Tyrell was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a deal that sent Jonathan Marchessault to the Lightning. Yes, that Marchessault, the one who got away. Tyrell played a total of 3 games in his Columbus career before suddenly taking a hiatus and not playing for two years. In 2017, he would retire officially after playing four games in the ECHL. Josh Anderson - "The Andy Man" wore #53 when he first started playing games in Columbus. Anderson played a total of 267 games for the Blue Jackets, spread over six seasons. He scored 65 goals and totaled 115 points during his time with Columbus. The 2018-19 season saw Anderson set career highs in goals, assists, and points. Unfortunately for him, he was never able to replicate that in Columbus. The following year, he tore his shoulder in December and had to have season-ending surgery, which wasn't decided until March. There were rumors floating around that Anderson was upset about the injury and how it was handled by Jackets' management, so he wanted out of Columbus. On October 6, 2020, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Max Domi and 3rd round pick in the 2020 draft, ending his career in Columbus. Since the trade, Anderson has played in 349 games for the Habs. He has scored 81 goals and totaled 135 points over five seasons. His highest goal total in Montreal is 21, and his highest assist total is 13. His highest points total is 32, which he's done twice. Anderson signed a 7-year, $38,500,000 contract with a cap hit of $5,500,000 per season in October of 2020, just days after the trade to Montreal. With one more season left on the current deal, it's safe to say that the Habs haven't gotten their money's worth on this deal. Cole Sillinger - 2022-2023 - Drafted in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft. Sillinger 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 6th 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. Two seasons ago, 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, 5 off his career high of 16, but he had 22 assists, setting a new career high. He also set a career high by playing 16:55 per game. He was the kind of player that Dean Evason loved. Last season, he backed up his career-best 24-25 season with another solid one. He set career highs in assists and +/-. Playing with Mathieu Olivier and Charlie Coyle, they put together arguably the best line that the CBJ had last season. Those three were noticeable every night and played havoc on opposing teams. Sillinger was awarded a new 3-year, $13.875 million contract extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 24, 2026, avoiding an arbitration hearing. He will be expected to produce more points and keep building on what he's started. Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! 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