2000/01: Major professional sports landed in Columbus for the first time as the Blue Jackets of the NHL made their debut. In their very first game at Nationwide Arena on October 7th, the Blue Jackets jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Chicago Blackhawks, with Bruce Gardiner scoring the first goal in franchise history. However, the sold out crowd of 18,136 would go home disappointed after the Blackhawks scored 5 unanswered goals to win 5-3. The Jackets would get their first win 5 days later when they beat the Calgary Flames on the road 3-2. Their first home win would not come until October 27th when they beat the Washington Capitals 3-1. The Blue Jackets would go on to finish in last place in the Central Division with a 28-39-9-6 record, as Geoff Sanderson led the team with 30 goals and 26 assists. Despite the team's last place finish goalie Ron Tugnutt would set a record for wins by a goalie on an expansion team with 22. 

2001/02: After a respectable inaugural season the Blue Jackets second season is full of disappointments as they finish in last place again with a record of 22-47-8-5, that is a full 14 points less then their first season, as goalies Ron Tugnutt and Marc Denis would struggle with high GAA average and poor records. Providing some notoriety would be Espen Knutsen who became the first Blue Jacket to play in the All-Star Game scoring a goal and an assist for the victorious World Team. However, the lasting memory of the season would be of the tragic death of young Blue Jacket fan Brittanie Cecil. Cecil who was attending the game on her 13th birthday was struck by a deflected puck while attending a game against the Calgary Flames at Nationwide Arena. She would tragically die two days later becoming the first fan fatality in the NHL's 85-year history. The Blue Jackets honor her memory by wearing a heart shaped decal with her initials "BNC" on their helmets for the remainder of the season. The death of Brittanie Cecil would force the NHL to put netting up in the offensive zones in all arenas the following season to protect the fans.

2002/03: The Blue Jackets who had the top overall pick in the NHL draft select 18-year old OHL star Rick Nash who would make the team out of training camp and have an instant impact as the Blue Jackets got off to a solid 7-5-1-1. However, over the next 2 months the Jackets would struggle as Coach Dave King is fired and replaced by GM Doug MacLean. Under MacLean the Blue Jackets would still finish in last place with a record of 29-42-8-3. However, with a strong 17 goal 22 assist rookie season from rookie Rick Nash the Blue Jackets know they now have a player they can build around.   

2003/04: The development of Rick Nash into one of the league's best superstars continued as he finished tied for the NHL lead in goals scored with 41 with Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers and Jarome Iginla. However it did not translate into wins on the ice as the Blue Jackets struggled again, and were never a factor in the playoff chase finishing in 4th Place with a 25-45-8-4 record, as Doug MacLean left the bench in the middle of the season to concrete on his duties as General Manager with Gerard Gallant taking over behind the bench.  

2005/06: Coming out of the Lock Out the Blue Jackets hoped to finally take that next step into the playoffs as they signed Defenseman Adam Foote. However, injuries to Rick Nash early in the season once again had the Jackets in a deep hole as they won just 5 of their first 23 games. The Jackets continued to struggle in December as they landed former All-Star Sergei Fedorov in a trade with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. However, Fedorov continued to struggle as the Jackets continued to lose, finishing in 3rd place with a 35-43-4 record.

2006/07: With Pascal Leclaire taking over for Marc Denis, who signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in goal the Blue Jackets entered their 7th season hoping for a change of fortune. However, they once again got off to a horrible start, as Coach Gerard Gallant was fired on November 13th after a 5-9-1 start. After being led briefly by interim Coach Gary Agnew, who was winless in five games the Jackets named Ken Hitchcock an experienced coach with a proven track record including a Stanley Cup Championship to lead the team following Thanksgiving. In Hitchcock's first game the Jackets lost to the Philadelphia Flyers who fired him only a month earlier 3-2.