The Columbus Blue Jackets have 49 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today we look at the history of jersey #49. There weren`t many who used the number, but at least one had a pretty good career.
Let’s take a look.
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Dan Fritsche – 2004-08 – The Ohio-born native was picked in the 2003 NHL Draft in the 2nd round.
Fritsche turned pro and became a full-time NHLer in 2005. He played 206 games for the CBJ over four years. He scored 29 goals and totaled 63 points.
In July of 2008, the young speedster was traded to the New York Rangers along with Nikolai Zherdev for Fedor Tyutin and Christian Bäckman. It’s safe to say the CBJ won this trade, as Tyutin would go on to become one of the best defensemen to ever play for the Blue Jackets.
On January 29, 2009, Fritsche was traded by the Rangers to the Minnesota Wild. The following season, Fritsche returned to the CBJ organization and would play for the Syracuse Crunch.
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In 2010, he left for Europe, where he would play until his retirement in 2016.
TJ Tynan – 2017 – The Blue Jackets drafted Tynan in the 3rd round of the 2011 NHL Draft.
Tynan would only end up playing 3 games for the Jackets during his time with Columbus. Instead, he would spend most of his time playing for the Springfield Falcons and Cleveland Monsters. He played in 76 games for the Monsters during their Calder Cup-winning season of 2015-16 and had 46 points. Tynan has 642 points in 693 career AHL games, including a 98-point season with the Ontario Reign in 2021-22.
He has only played in 25 NHL games and signed with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL for the 25-26 season. Tynan is currently 37th on the all-time AHL list for career points.
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He will play for the Springfield Falcons of the AHL in 26-27.
Ryan MacInnis – 2020-21 – MacInnis was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2nd round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
The son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Al MacInnis had big shoes to fill, which is nearly impossible to do. He was traded to Columbus by Arizona for Jacob Graves and a conditional pick in the 2019 NHL Draft on July 18, 2018.
MacInnis played in 26 games as a Blue Jacket and had a single point. The majority of his time was spent playing for the Cleveland Monsters, where he had two productive years.
He left North America to play in Germany following the 2022 season. He signed with Kölner Haie in 2025, where he remains playing today.
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Who was your favorite player to wear #49.
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