The Columbus Blue Jackets will hold their third of five 25th Anniversary Celebration games when the club hosts the Vegas Golden Knights at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, December 13. The game will include appearances by former players: forwards Tyler Wright, Jody Shelley, Chris Clark and defenseman David Savard.
As part of the festivities, season ticket holders will have the exclusive opportunity to attend a private luncheon with the alumni on Friday, December 12. On Saturday, the featured alumni along with defenseman Aaron Johnson, who missed the previous celebration due to illness, will participate in an autograph session beginning at 6 p.m. on the Nationwide Arena concourse. The alumni will then be recognized in an on-ice ceremony prior to puck drop, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Wright, an original Blue Jacket selected in the 2000 Expansion Draft, registered 79 goals and 70 assists for 149 points with 854 penalty minutes (PIM) in 613 career NHL games with Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Anaheim, including 57-51-108 and 436 PIM as a Blue Jacket from 2000-05. He also was one of the club’s most active community ambassadors as he played an integral role in launching the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation’s Hats for Heroes program in 2000 and later in 2010 completed an Ironman Triathlon in Canada to raise money for the Foundation. After retiring as a player, Wright returned to the Blue Jackets in 2007 as a development coach. He spent six seasons in the club’s hockey operations department, including as director of amateur scouting from 20010-13. Wright currently serves as director of player personnel for the Los Angeles Kings.
Shelley made his NHL debut during the inaugural 2000-01 season and went on to tally 11-18-299 and 1,025 penalty minutes in 380 games as a Blue Jacket from 2000–08. He ranks second in club history in penalty minutes and led the team in PIM in four-straight seasons between 2001-06. He wrapped up his NHL career in 2013 with 18-36-54 and 1,538 penalty minutes in 627 games with the Columbus, San Jose, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia. Following his retirement, he returned to Columbus and rejoined the organization as a broadcast associate and team ambassador. Since 2014, he has been the club’s television color analyst. In addition to those duties on FanDuel Sports Network, he serves as an analyst on Amazon Prime’s Monday Night Hockey and on TNT Sports.
Clark registered 8-12-20 with 59 PIM in 89 games with the Blue Jackets from 2009–11, serving as an alternate captain during his tenure. Over an 11-season NHL career, Clark appeared in 607 games with Calgary, Washington and Columbus, recording 103-111-214 and 700 PIM. After retiring, the South Windsor, Connecticut native joined the Blue Jackets’ front office in 2012 as a scout and later served as director of player development. He was promoted to director of player personnel and assistant general manager in 2019 and serves as the general manager of the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters.
One of the top defensemen in franchise history, Savard appeared in 597 games with Columbus from 2011-21 and posted 41-125-166 and 331 PIM. He owns the franchise record for career blocked shots (958) and entered this season as the all-time leader among Blue Jackets defensemen in games played with 597 (Zach Werenski is second with 593). Selected by the Blue Jackets in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, he helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs five times between 2013-20 and was named to the club’s Quarter-Century Second Team. Savard retired in 2025 after registering 54-188-242 and 467 PIM in 870 NHL career games with the Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens.
The December 13 celebration is the third of five 25th Anniversary Celebration games during the 2025–26 season. The final two celebration games will be held on Saturday, January 24 (presented by OhioHealth) vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning and Saturday, March 21 vs. the Seattle Kraken. Additional alumni honorees and event details will be shared in the coming months.
For more information on the Blue Jackets’ 25th Anniversary, visit www.CBJHistory.com.
