Last season was an emotional roller coaster for the Columbus Blue Jackets after the tragic deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in September. But the team pulled together and was right in the mix for a playoff spot until the end, so now expectations are being recalibrated for 2025-26.
Zach Werenski had his best season yet and was the primary driver of Columbus’s success, but its top forward line was also one of the most dangerous trios in the NHL. Fourth-liner Mathieu Olivier, known for his toughness and fisticuffs, contributed so much more and added a surprising 18 goals. Kirill Marchenko was the breakout player of the year and Adam Fantilli took an important big step up in his second NHL season and first fully healthy one.
Can the Blue Jackets build on any of that success?
Most of last season’s team returns, but with some intriguing additions who could make it a more balanced group. The Blue Jackets also need to have better injury luck than last season, when Yegor Chinakov, Sean Monahan and Boone Jenner missed considerable time. Fewer man-games lost would go a long way.
There is optimism in Columbus that this team is just about to break through. Here is how they are shaping up with training camp on the horizon.
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Newcomer to watch: Charlie Coyle
The Blue Jackets had struggled over the years to find or develop their own centres to make for a strong core down the middle, but entering 2025-26 they look pretty strong at the position. With Monahan and Fantilli looking like the top two centres, Columbus added Charlie Coyle to its mix in a summer trade, and as long as he’s on the third line, that 1-2-3 down the middle is a nice combination of size, skill and snarl. Coyle was a 25-goal scorer two years ago, but doesn’t need to be that in Columbus. Hitting 20 again would be a nice target and if he reaches it, then something is probably going right with this offence, which finished eighth-best in the league a year ago.
Under-the-radar player to watch: Isac Lundestrom
It looks as though Isac Lundestrom, 25, will line up as Columbus’ fourth centre, between tough guys Miles Wood and Mathieu Olivier. Four years ago, Lundestrom scored 16 goals, which isn’t likely to happen again in this setting, but showcased the fact he can bring offence from time to time and will be a nice weapon to have so deep in the lineup. Lundestrom has developed into a competent all-around centre and has a chance to really round out Columbus’ centre depth nicely. How will he handle playing with two wingers who will surely bring intensity to their on-ice minutes?
Top Prospect: Cayden Lindstrom
The fourth-overall pick in 2024 — ahead of Ivan Demidov and Tij Iginla — Cayden Lindstrom missed nearly the entirety of his follow-up season with a back injury, surgery and the required recovery time. He returned to Medicine Hat for the end of its playoff run in the WHL, scoring four points in four games, and then went scoreless in three games at the Memorial Cup. Lindstrom’s upside is tantalizing. He’s six-foot-four, 215 pounds and a scoring centre who projects to be on one of the top two lines at the NHL level. But he also has to prove he can be the same player Columbus projected him as when it drafted him so high. Lindstrom has left Medicine Hat and will be playing at Michigan State this season where he’ll be challenged against bigger and overall older players than at the major junior level.
Three Burning Questions
1. Can Jet Greaves win the crease?
While Columbus had the eighth-best offence last season, it also allowed the eighth-most goals and needs to find more consistency in net. Elvis Merzlikins returns this season, but there will be an opportunity for someone else to earn the majority of starts in 2025-26. When Jet Greaves, 24, was called up at the end of last season, he had a heck of a showcase in April, going 5-0-0 with a .975 save percentage, 0.80 GAA and two shutouts. In 21 NHL games over the past three seasons, he has a .924 save percentage and there is real hope the Blue Jackets have developed their very own No. 1 goalie. He’ll have to earn those starts with a good camp and solid in-season play, though, because Columbus is no longer an afterthought and very much has playoffs on the mind. The Blue Jackets missed by only two points last season.
2. What will come of Yegor Chinakov’s trade request?
At the start of last season, Yegor Chinakov played alongside Monahan and Marchenko on a line that was one of the NHL’s hottest out of the gate — Chinakov had 14 points in his first 21 games until an upper-body injury forced him out of the lineup until March. When he returned, he was moved down the depth chart and made a healthy scratch when his production didn’t return. Over the summer, it came out that Chinakov had requested a trade out of Columbus, which was confirmed by GM Don Waddell. Chinakov’s camp said the request was made due to misunderstandings with head coach Dean Evason, while GM Don Waddell remarked the player couldn’t handle being scratched. Chinakov is pencilled in as a second- or third-line winger, so we’ll see how this story develops through camp and the early part of the season. He has one year left on his contract, after which he’ll be an arbitration-eligible RFA.
3. How will Zach Werenski follow up his Norris finalist season?
If you weren’t familiar with Werenski’s game last season, you surely are now as Columbus’ No. 1 defenceman had a terrific year and finished second to Cale Makar in Norris voting. Werenski led Columbus in scoring with 82 points in 81 games, no NHL defenceman scored more even-strength goals or points, and no player averaged more ice time than he did. He’ll be driven by the Olympics this year, but also by a playoff spot that was oh-so-close for Columbus last season. If they Blue Jackets are going to make a similar push in 2025-26, Werenski needs to be that type of difference-maker again.
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