The ’09-‘10 season is one that will start a week earlier due to the sixteen-day Olympic break in February, and sees the Jackets play more Saturday night games than ever before.

Following the home opener at Nationwide Arena, the Jackets will play three straight road games at Vancouver, San Jose, and Phoenix. The team will head out west again on October 20 for an extended road trip that includes stops in Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim, and LA.

The Jackets will face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins at home on October 30, then head to Washington to face Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in the nation’s capital on November 1.

Wednesday November 11 marks the first game against the Detroit Red Wings, at home in the friendly confines of Nationwide Arena.

Later that month, the Jackets will be all over the map with their longest road trip of the season beginning November 19 in Dallas and ending the 26^th in Ottawa to face the Senators. Along the way, the team will make stops in Nashville, New York to face the Rangers, and Montreal.

In December, the CBJ will play back-to-back games against the defending Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on the 26^th and then back here at Nationwide on the 28^th. The Jackets will conclude 2009 with a New Years Eve game in Columbus against Nashville.

The month of January may be one of the toughest months of the season for the CBJ with nine road games and only six at home. The month includes a home and home with division rival Chicago on the 14^th and 16^th, and sends the Jackets to Boston for a game against the Bruins on the 21^st.

February, which is shortened because of the Olympic break, has only six games on the schedule including five straight at home before the sixteen-day break beginning the 15^th.

Columbus will play eight at home and six on the road during the playoff push in March then will end the season with three games against Detroit in April culminating in the final game of the year at home verse the Red Wings on the 9^th.

Eastern Conference foes on the schedule include the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins, a home and home with the Washington Capitals, as well as games against the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Ottawa Senators.

The Jackets have a schedule that sees them playing away from home a lot early in the season, but allows them to play more home games down the stretch. With the way the schedule is set up, early season road trips could be pivotal to in determining where the Jackets are positioned come the post-season.

For the complete schedule, visit www.bluejackets.com.

Nash was drafted number one overall back in 2002 when the club decided to trade up to the first spot in order to obtain the Ontario native. He has been reminding Jackets management why they selected him ever since.

Nash has been a star since the moment he put on the Jackets sweater. In his NHL debut on October 10, 2002, Nash scored a goal in a 2-1 win over Chicago and went on to make the NHL All-Rookie team at the conclusion of the ’02-’03 season. In only his second year, Nash tied Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk for the league lead with 41 goals and, along with the other two, was awarded the Rocket Richard Trophy as the leagues most prolific goal scorer. At a mere 19 years of age, Nash was the youngest player to lead the league in goals.

After scoring what many commentators called “the goal of the year” on January 17, 2008 vs. Phoenix, Nash went on to sore three goals in the 2008 All-Star Game including the fastest goal in all-star history only twelve seconds into play. On March 7^th, 2009, Nash recorded an unassisted hat trick in an 8-2 rout of the Detroit Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena. It was the first time a player recorded three unassisted goals in one game since Maurice “Rocket” Richard scored 4 back in 1948.

In only six NHL seasons, Nash has scored 194 goals, and recorded 161 assists for a total of 355 points. He is also a four time NHL all-star and was named MVP at the 2007 World Championships with team Canada in Moscow.

Although his impact on the ice is undeniable, his impact off the ice is even greater. At the NHL awards last week, Nash was named 2008-09 NHL Foundation Player of the Year. An award that is presented annually to a player “in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community.”

Since his arrival in Columbus, Rick Nash has always been one of the most active Blue Jackets in the community. Nash established the #61 club, which according to bluejackets.com encourages kids to make good choices and develop healthy habits and rewards those that do. “Through the #61 Club Good Health Challenge, he provides more than 30 tickets to every Blue Jackets home game to students who make 61 healthy choices in a month.”

Nash also gave $100,000 to The Ohio State University Athletics Department to finance a student-athlete scholarship and donated $25,000 to the John H. McConnell Scholarship Fund in memory of the Jackets founder.

“Being a professional hockey player is a privilege and I am extremely fortunate, as it has afforded me many opportunities to give back. I am honored to be this year’s recipient of the NHL Foundation Player Award and am grateful that this honor will directly benefit the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation, the John H. McConnell Scholarship Fund, Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation and the Pelotonia Tour,” said Nash.

Nash also donates $15,000 annually to Santa’s Silent Helpers, an organization that provides holiday meals and gifts for 350-400 central Ohio families experiencing financial difficulties. These are just a few of the charitable works Nash has done since becoming a Blue Jacket.

In his honor, the NHL has pledged to donate $25,000 to the charitable organization of Nash’s choice.