Three Columbus Blue Jackets to remember when playing a game of ‘Puckdoku’

Puckdoku is the trivia game sweeping the hockey world. It’s the NHL equivalent of the “Immaculate Grid“, a three-by-three fill-in-the-blank puzzle which originated as an MLB game but quickly spawned variants for all kinds of other sports leagues.

The concept is simple: for each square, try to think of a player who fits into the criteria established by both the corresponding X- and Y-axis labels. For example, Ray Bourque would fit perfectly into a Boston Bruins/Colorado Avalanche square. Patrick Roy would do just fine for Colorado/Montreal. You get the idea.

Of course, it goes a little deeper than that. Sometimes, instead of teams, Puckdoku uses statistical thresholds (“200+ goals”) or career achievements (“Olympic gold medallist”) as categories. Also, if you want to use a Minnesota North Stars player for the Dallas Stars or an original Winnipeg Jets player for the Arizona Coyotes, you can.

Naturally, some players are more useful for Puckdoku than others. Someone like Maurice Richard, who spent his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens, is pretty much useless for the game unless a Habs label happens to intersect with the right statistical category.

On the flip side, players who spent time with several NHL teams are among the most valuable for Puckdoku purposes. And the more obscure the player, the lower (and better) your “uniqueness” score will be. Both Jarome Iginla and Blake Comeau are valid answers for Calgary/Pittsburgh, but one is a little less well-known than the other.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to spend some time here at Daily Faceoff highlighting three players connected with each NHL franchise who are particularly useful in games of Puckdoku. We’ll press onward today with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Fredrik Modin

Teams: Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames

At his peak, Modin was a reliable power winger with a terrific shot. He surpassed the 30-goal mark twice during his tenure with the Lightning and tallied eight goals and 19 points in 23 playoff games as the Bolts captured the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Modin got his start with the Maple Leafs in 1996 and he scored 16 goals with the team in the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. The Leafs traded Modin to the Lightning in 1999 in exchange for defenseman Cory Cross and a 2001 seventh-round pick, and that trade would soon look pretty lopsided — even after Cross scored a playoff overtime goal in an upset sweep of the Ottawa Senators in 2001. Modin scored at least 40 points in five of his six seasons with the Lightning and served as an alternate captain with the team.

The Lightning traded Modin to the Blue Jackets in 2006 and he spent parts of four seasons in Ohio, although his production began to wane after his productive first year with the team. Modin managed 22 goals and 42 points in 79 games with the Blue Jackets in 2006–07, but over the following three seasons he collected just 20 goals and 48 points in 117 games. The Blue Jackets ultimately sent Modin to the Kings in exchange for future considerations ahead of the 2010 trade deadline.

On his last legs at this point, Modin collected seven goals and 10 points in 40 games split between the Thrashers and Flames in 2010–11. He retired after that season, citing a persistent back injury. Through 898 career NHL games with six teams, Modin racked up 232 goals and 462 points.

You’re unlikely to see the Thrashers logo in a game of Puckdoku, but fear not: Modin can be used as a valid answer for the modern Winnipeg Jets. He also won a gold medal with Team Sweden at the 2006 Olympics, so keep that in mind whenever you see any categories pertaining to international play. Of course, Modin is also a Stanley Cup champion and he won the World Championships in 1998, making him a member of the ultra-prestigious Triple Gold Club.

Thomas Vanek

Teams: Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets

Vanek was one of many notable NHL players who debuted in the league immediately after the 2004–05 lockout. He scored 25 goals in his rookie season with the Sabres and didn’t look back from there, potting at least 20 every single year of his career until his last. Vanek and Alex Ovechkin were the only two players to reach the 40-point mark in each of the first 13 seasons after the lockout. How’s that for consistency?

The Sabres originally selected Vanek with the No. 5 overall pick in the legendary 2003 NHL Draft. The six-foot-two Austrian proved himself more than worthy of that draft slot in his nine seasons with the team, helping the Sabres reach the playoffs four times and tallying six goals and 10 points during their run to the 2007 Eastern Conference Final. Also in 2006–07, Vanek established career-high marks with 43 goals and 84 points in 82 games.

After the 2007 season, the Oilers signed Vanek to a seven-year offer sheet as a restricted free agent. The Sabres matched and Vanek would remain with the team through the final year of that contract, in which he was traded twice. First, the Sabres sent Vanek — at that point their team captain — to the Islanders in October 2013. Then, with the Islanders outside a playoff spot at the 2014 trade deadline, Vanek was shipped off to the Canadiens. After collecting 27 goals and 68 points in 78 games split between the Sabres, Islanders and Canadiens in 2013–14, Vanek added five goals and 10 points in 17 playoff contests with Montreal.

Vanek signed a three-year contract with the Wild as an unrestricted free agent in 2014 but was bought out two years in after an unproductive 2015 playoff and 2015–16 season. He then split the 2016–17 season between the Red Wings and Panthers before arriving in Vancouver. Vanek enjoyed a minor career renaissance as a member of the Canucks in 2017–18, establishing himself as a fan favorite with 17 goals and 41 points in 61 games. The Canucks flipped him to the Blue Jackets at the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for Tyler Motte and Jussi Jokinen.

With Columbus, Vanek reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the final time in his career. He finished the season strong, tallying seven goals and 15 points in 19 games with the Blue Jackets, but managed just two points in six playoff contests as the Blue Jackets were vanquished by the Washington Capitals in the first round. Over 80 games with the Canucks and Blue Jackets during the 2017–18 regular season, the 34-year-old notched 24 goals and 56 points.

Vanek wrapped up his NHL career with one last season with the Red Wings in 2018–19, during which he surpassed the 1,000 game plateau and racked up 16 goals and 36 points in 64 games. Over his 14 NHL seasons, Vanek collected 373 goals and 789 points in 1,029 games. He remains the ninth-most productive member of the 2003 NHL Draft class, behind Eric Staal, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry, Zach Parise, Brent Burns and Jeff Carter. 

The San Jose Sharks hired Vanek as an amateur scout based in Minnesota, which remains his home after his time at the University of Minnesota and with the Wild.

Geoff Sanderson

Teams: Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers

If Vanek is the most successful Austrian NHL player ever, then Sanderson is the best to ever come out of the Northwest Territories. The Hay River product put up six 30-goal seasons during his NHL career, including two 40-goal campaigns, and finished with exactly 700 points in 1,104 games. On top of all that, he was the first 30-goal scorer in the history of the Blue Jackets. (By the way, yes, Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson is Geoff’s son.)

Under the tutelage of the legendary Dave King, the Blue Jackets posted a 28–39–9–6 record in their inaugural 2000–01 season — bad, yes, but certainly not horrendous like many of their past expansion brethren. Sanderson was the Blue Jackets’ main offensive catalyst in their first season, putting up 30 goals and 56 points in 68 games. Two years later, he’d outdo himself with 34 goals and 67 points in a full 82-game season with the club. Sanderson appeared in parts of five seasons with the Blue Jackets between 2000–01 and 2005–06, managing 88 goals and 168 points in 261 games.

Sanderson’s NHL career began in Hartford way back in the 1990–91 season, immediately after the Whalers had selected him with the No. 36 overall pick in the 1990 NHL Draft. The six-foot winger would remain with the Whalers for the rest of their tenure in Hartford, topping out with 46 goals and 89 points in 82 games during the 1992–93 season. Sanderson then appeared in 40 games in the franchise’s first season as the Hurricanes before being traded to the Canucks. After just nine games in Vancouver, Sanderson was sent to the Sabres.

Playing more of a depth role in Buffalo, Sanderson nevertheless experienced his greatest playoff success as a Sabre, collecting 10 points in 19 games during the team’s run to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final. The Sabres left Sanderson unprotected in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft and he became the first forward selected when the Blue Jackets took him with the No. 23 overall pick. Beyond his productive stint as a Blue Jacket, Sanderson returned to the Canucks in 2004 and also played for the Coyotes, Flyers and Oilers. Sanderson managed one last 25-goal season with the Coyotes in 2005–06 before his offense started to wane, and he ultimately retired from the NHL in 2008.