Mattias Timander is the latest chapter in Blue Jackets’ #37 tradition

The Columbus Blue Jackets are counting down to opening night at Nationwide Arena, and one part of that buildup is a familiar one in hockey, jersey-number history. In a new preseason feature marking 37 days until the season begins, Yahoo Sports focused on the franchise’s No. 37 and the players who have worn it in Jackets colors.

For this edition, the spotlight fell on Mattias Timander. The feature lists Timander as the relevant figure in the number’s modern ledger, with a specific reference to the 2001-02 season. That matters for fans because single-season entries often represent the clearest, most traceable “chapters” in a team’s number history, especially when the jersey has been used by multiple players across eras.

Timander’s connection extends beyond Columbus. Yahoo Sports notes that Timander was drafted in the 1992 NHL Draft in the ninth round by the Boston Bruins. In practical terms, that detail places Timander’s path in the long-form development pipeline that existed for many players of that period, where mid-round picks could spend years refining their game before showing up in the NHL or reaching a new NHL organization.

The Bruins drafting connection also underscores how jersey history is not only about what happens in-season, but how franchises cross paths in the draft. A number that later becomes part of the Blue Jackets identity can begin as an artifact of another organization’s talent evaluation, then evolve as the player’s career turns into something more directly tied to Columbus.

While the Yahoo Sports piece is built around a single theme, it also functions as a reminder that preseason countdown stories often serve a dual purpose. They keep the calendar moving toward opening night, and they give supporters a reason to revisit older rosters and the players who helped shape the organization’s identity, even if those players are not the headline names of today’s NHL conversations.

As the Blue Jackets continue toward opening night, the team’s next step is straightforward, the on-ice portion. The number 37 history provides context, but it does not replace the central question, which group of players will define the season. Fans can watch whether the franchise treats its tradition as more than a novelty by tracking how the current roster and prospects build continuity with the organization’s past.