The 2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the sixth National Hockey League season in Columbus, Ohio. The offseason was dominated by a contract dispute with top forward Nikolai Zherdev, who had threatened to return to Russia to play if Columbus did not meet his demands. Zherdev remained a hold out for much of the pre-season, however the two parties were able to come to an agreement about a week before the season began. __TOC__