The Columbus Blue Jackets have 8 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #8. Let's take a look. Geoff Sanderson - 2001-2006 - Drafted by Hartford in 1990. Sanderson played 268 games as a Jacket and had 168 points. In the franchise's first season, he dazzled the NWA crowds when he scored 30 goals and had 56 points. Sanderson was a very good player for the Blue Jackets and brought some excitement to a fledgling franchise desperate to win some games. He's the only player in CBJ history to score 4 goals in a single game and was the first player in franchise history to have 5 points in a game. He retired in 2008 after playing 1100 games and totaling 700 points. Last season, he was a pro scout for the New Jersey Devils. His son Jake is now a star defenseman for the Ottawa Senators. Jan Hejda - 2008-2010 - Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2003. Hejda signed with Columbus in 2007 after playing one year with the Edmonton Oilers. In all, he played with Columbus for four seasons and totaled 302 games. He scored 11 goals and 67 points while playing on the Columbus blue line. He left for the Colorado Avalanche in 2011 when free agency opened. He would play there until 2015. He signed a PTO with the Lake Erie Monsters in December of 2015 and was released in January of 2016 and would retire. Scottie Upshall - 2011 - Drafted by Nashville in 2002. Upshall played 21 games as a Jacket and had seven points after being traded on February 28, 2011, from the Phoenix Coyotes. After his time in Columbus, he played for the Florida Panthers and St. Louis Blues. He left for Europe in 2019 to play a single season in Switzerland. Maksim Mayorov - 2012 - Drafted by Columbus in 2007. Mayorov played 22 games in Columbus and totaled 11 points. He never played another game for the Jackets. He left for Russia 2012 and played there until he retired in 2021. He is now an amateur scout for the Washington Capitals. Nathan Horton - 2014 - Drafted by Florida in 2003. Horton only played 36 games for Columbus after signing with the Jackets in 2013. After netting 19 points, he was forced to medically retire due to a back issue. During the first period of a March 10, 2014, game against the Dallas Stars, Horton scored a goal to put the Blue Jackets ahead, 1–0. Shortly thereafter, Dallas Stars center Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench. Play was suspended, and on April 9, 2014, the game restarted from the beginning, with the Blue Jackets leading, 1–0. Horton was unavailable for the restarted game due to an injury. However, his goal from the original game was still recorded in official statistics, making him the only NHL player known to score in a game in which he did not play. Zach Werenski - 2017-2025 - Drafted by Columbus in 2015. Zach Werenski has cemented himself as the best defenseman in Columbus Blue Jackets history. Werenski came into the league like a lion and really hasn't stopped since. Unfortunately, injuries set him back during his career, but last year, he stayed healthy and became a top-scoring, elite defenseman. Oh, and he also won his first Norris Trophy. He already owns almost every record for a defenseman, including games played, goals, assists, points, PPG, most goals in a game, most assists in a game, and most points in a game. But there are a few more that he could set in the upcoming season too. Let's take a look at what records he could eclipse next season. Total Points - The record is 547, set by Rick Nash. Werenski currently has 465, which is 82 points off the mark. Zach has 82 and 81 points in the last two seasons, respectively, so it's highly probable that he breaks it or comes very close. Overtime Goals - The record is 8 and is owned by Seth Jones. Werenski currently sits at 7, so this one should fall pretty quickly. He already owns the record for most OT assists with 14. Overtime Points - He's tied with Seth Jones with 21, so this one will fall early, most likely. Longest Goal Streaks By A Defenseman - Currently tied with Seth Jones and Ivan Provorov at 3. Longest Assist Streak - Currently tied with RJ Umberger at 8. Career Multi-Point Games 2-Plus - The record sits with Rick Nash at 137. Werenski is sitting at 105. Very reachable for the reigning Norris winner. Career Multi-Point Games 4-Plus - Werenski is currently tied at 5 with Artemi Panarin. Career Multi-Point Games 5-Plus - Werenski is tied with seven others at 1 game with 5-plus points. Career Multi-Assist Games 4-Plus - Artemi Panarin owns the record with 3. Werenski currently sits at 2. There are still a lot of questions to be answered about whether or not Werenski will be on the team in the future. For now, however, he has said that he wants to be a Columbus Blue Jacket and will seemingly be here next season. It will be fun to watch him break every record in the coming season or two, and who knows? Maybe he'll stick around for the long haul and become the franchise's all-time leader in every category in the record books. Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwm-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and never miss a story. Let us know what you think below. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
