Atkinson, known for his great speed, soft hands, and excellent shooting skills, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the sixth round, 157th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

On May 20, 2015, shortly after the end of the 2014-15 season, Nick Foligno was named captain of the Blue Jackets, filling a vacancy that had existed since previous team captain Rick Nash's departure to the New York Rangers in the 2012 off-season. Foligno became the sixth captain in Blue Jackets' history.

The 2017 Blue Jackets set a franchise record with 4 All-Star Game selections: right winger Cam Atkinson, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, defenseman Seth Jones, and coach John Tortorella.

Goaltender Steve Mason made his NHL debut on November 5, 2008, starting against and defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-4. He recorded his first NHL shutout several games later on November 22, making 15 saves in a 2-0 win against the Atlanta Thrashers. He finished the season with a 33-20-7 record, 2.29 GAA and .916 save percentage. He was awarded the 2009 Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year honors, edging out Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks and Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks.

The Blue Jackets qualified for the 2019 playoffs as the Eastern Conference's final wildcard team, upsetting the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in four games before falling to the Boston Bruins in the next round. Matt Duchene finished the playoffs with 5 goals on 18 shots, for a franchise-record shooting percentage of 27.8%. The following season, he signed a seven-year, $56-million contract with the Nashville Predators.

He fought Bob Probert in each of the three periods in a 2-1 Blue Jackets loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on January 10, 2002. The three fights by the same two adversaries in a single NHL match would next be achieved fourteen years later when Evander Kane and Alex Petrovic did it on February 9, 2016.

After being selected first overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus, Nash spent nine seasons in Blue Jackets jersey #61.

Defenseman Lyle Odelein played for eight NHL teams in 16 seasons, and served as the inaugural captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

During the 2002-03 NHL season, Marc Denis set the then-NHL record for most minutes in a season with 4,511, playing 77 regular season games and recording a franchise-record 2,172 saves.

On November 4, 2016, Columbus set a franchise record for most goals in a game as it handed the previously undefeated Montreal Canadiens their first regulation loss of the season.