The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a lot of players don the Union Blue in its history. But only a handful have worn 31. In the case of #31, it’s been owned by goalies.
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Let’s look at the players that have worn the number.
Who Wore It First?
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Ron Tugnutt – Tugnutt for President!! He played in 53 games for the Jackets in the first year of the franchise and went 22-25-5 with a .917 save %. After two years with Columbus, he went on to play the final two years of his long career with the Dallas Stars. He played 16 years and won 186 games in the NHL.
Who Wore It Last?
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Michael Hutchinson – Hutchinson started 10 games for Columbus after coming over from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Blue Jackets legend Jonathan Quick in March of 2023. He went 2-6-3 and made 6 relief appearances as well. He recently signed a PTO with the New Jersey Devils.
Who Wore It Best?
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Pascal Leclaire – Leclaire was drafted #8 overall in 2001 by Columbus. He compiled a career record of 45-55-12 with Columbus and had a save % of .907%. The Jackets traded him to Ottawa on March 4, 2009. He and a 2009 second-round pick went to Ottawa in exchange for Antoine Vermette. The pick the CBJ sent to Ottawa would wide up being Robin Lehner. Leclaire would retire on November 12, 2012. Leclaire also was in net for Columbus and gave up the first career goal to future hall-of-famer Alex Ovechkin.
Others That Have Worn #31
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David LeNeveu – LeNeveu played in one game for Columbus during the 2010-11 season. He played one period and gave up 2 goals on 12 shots. He never played another NHL game after his time in Columbus and finished his career in the KHL in 2014-15.
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Shawn Hunwick – Hunwick famously made one appearance for Columbus, playing 3 minutes on April 7, 2012. He relieved Steve Mason in a 7-3 Jackets win. He never played another NHL game and finished his career in Germany in 2013.
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Curtis McElhinney – McElhinney could have been listed as the player who wore #31 the best. He started 66 games for the Jackets and came in to relieve the starters another 19 times. His career record with Columbus was 26-33-8. He went on to win a pair of Stanley Cups for the Tampa Bay Lightning, backing up starter Andrei Vasilevskiy. He retired on September 25, 2021
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Anton Forsberg – He played for the Columbus organization for three seasons, but would only get 9 starts. In those 9 starts from 2014 to 2017, his record was 1-8. Where he really showed his worth was during the 2015-16…