It has been a summer of change for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as the team now has a new General Manager for the first time in over a decade with Don Waddell tasked with leading the ship. It took longer than expected, but the team also has a new head coach Dean Evason as the team looks to turn around its rebuild. The Blue Jackets have disappointed tremendously since their first round loss in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, as they have compiled a record of 107-155-40 during the interim, which is a winning percentage of .354. As one of the younger teams in the league, the Blue Jackets will rely more on their younger players to take the next step and get the organization back on track.
Draft
1-4: C Cayden LindstromMedicine Hat (WHL)
2-36: D Charlie ElickBrandon (WHL)
2-60: G Evan GardnerSaskatoon (WHL)
3-86: D Luca MarrelliOshawa (OHL)
4-101: D Tanner HenricksLincoln (USHL)
6-165: D Luke AshtonLangley (BCHL)
It would have been difficult for Columbus to pass up on a top talent with the fourth pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and the team did not disappoint in taking the best power forward available. Lindstrom combines size and speed and will be a valuable long-term option in Columbus’ top six. He recently completed his second season with Medicine Hat, where he scored 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games. The only initial concern with Lindstrom so far is a persistent back injury that limited him last season, but he still has the developmental foundation for a second-line center.
Despite having only five picks in the remaining six rounds of the draft on day two, the Blue Jackets were able to secure a deal early in the second round for Elick, who was considered by many to be a late first-round talent. He is already a legitimate defenseman in the WHL who can move the puck quickly down the ice in certain situations. Although he is one of the more physically strong defensemen in his age group, he is a threat with his stick in the lanes and has the acceleration to outrun opposing forecheckers on defense.
Trade acquisitions
D Jordan Harris (from Montreal)
Harris will take over responsibility for Bean on the Blue Jackets’ back line, as he is expected to play in a more junior position. Over the last two seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Harris played in 131 games, scoring seven goals and 31 points. At 24, he still has some talent, but he is not expected to play many minutes outside of five-on-five games.
When Columbus swaps defenders Ivan Provorov During the 2024–25 NHL season, before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, Harris could slip into the second pairing with his fellow junior. David Jiricek. The team could then test Harris in hopes of a breakout role on the second power play unit, but will likely opt for a more versatile option to fill that need.
UFA signings
D Michael B. (one year, $775,000)
F Dylan Gambrell (one year, $775,000)*
C Sean Monahan (five years, $27.5 million)
G Zachary Savchenko (one year, $775,000)*
* means a mutual contract
Columbus made a big splash on the first day of free agency by signing Monahan to a five-year contract. He will once again be playing with winger Johnny Gaudreau from their time with the Calgary Flames with hopes of a comeback with the latter. Since signing a seven-year, $68.25 million contract with the Blue Jackets in 2022, Gaudreau has failed to manage a point-per-game average despite scoring 33 goals and 134 points in 161 games.
Monahan is coming off a solid season playing between the Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets, achieving the highest point total of his career since the 2019-20 season. Not only was he a solid offensive player, recording 26 goals and 59 points in 83 games, but Monahan also performed much better on faceoffs than in past seasons, as he posted a 54.9% success rate last season compared to his career average of 51.0%. Monahan should immediately step in as the team’s first-line center so Evason and the coaching staff can take some of the pressure off some of their younger options in the middle.
RFA signings
F Yegor Chinachow (two years, $4.2 million)
D Jake Christiansen (one year, $775,000)*
G Jetted Greaves (two years, $1.625 million)
F Kent Johnson (three years, $5.4 million)
F Kirill Marchenko (three years, $11.5 million)
F Cole Sillinger (two years, $4.5 million)
* means a mutual contract
Most of Columbus’s available money went to restricted free agents as the team made heavy use of some of its younger talent. Marchenko landed the biggest deal of the bunch after scoring nearly the most goals of any Blue Jackets in two straight seasons. With Monahan as a midfielder, Marchenko could reach the 30-goal mark as soon as next season.
Johnson, Sillinger and Chinakhov all have similar talents, with the latter having the most impressive season last year with 13 goals and 29 points in 53 games. It’s imperative that all three improve their defensive output to compete at the NHL level, and Evason’s coaching style should help with that. None of their contracts were signed this summer, which hampers the Blue Jackets’ spending in the near or future, and they will provide both the player and the team with the opportunity to get better deals in the future.
One of the more subtle deals Columbus made this summer is the two-year, $1.625 million deal with Greaves, who is on his way to regular playing time as a reserve player in the NHL. The young goalie impressed in the AHL last season, posting a 30-12-4 record in 46 games with a .910 save percentage and a 2.93 goals-against average. Greaves continued his strong play into the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, where he led the eventual champion Hershey Bears to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a .926 save percentage throughout the postseason.
Departures
D Jake Bean (Calgary, two years, $3.5 million)
D Nick Blankenburg (Nashville, two years, $1.55 million)*
D Adam Boqvist (Florida, one year, $775,000)*
F Joshua Dunne (Buffalo, two years, $1.55 million)*
F Brendan Gaunce (Minnesota, two years, $1.55 million)*
F Patrick Laine (transferred to Montreal)
F Carson Meyer (Anaheim, one year, $775,000)*
F Alexander Nylander (signed with Toronto, AHL)
D Billy Sweezee (Boston, one year, $775,000)*
F Alexandre Texier (transferred to St. Louis)
* means a mutual contract
Columbus was unable to lose much talent this summer, with the biggest loss coming from targeted transfers. The team opted to sign defensemen Boqvist or
Bean, allowing them to find greener pastures elsewhere and thin out their defensive core. Boqvist and Bean both had disappointing seasons last year, making them useless for the Blue Jackets going forward. The team can now give top talent Jiricek regular playing time after he was often shuffled between the AHL and the AHL last year.
The biggest loss is the team parting ways with Laine in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Laine was dramatically limited last season due to injuries and a lengthy stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program that resulted in him appearing in just 18 games. However, the former second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft is only two years removed from being one of the better forwards on the roster, having scored 48 goals and 108 points in 111 games between 2021 and 2023. No matter how much they would have liked to keep Laine after he left the Player Assistance Program a few weeks ago, the Finnish sharpshooter and his agent already agreed with Columbus earlier this summer that an exit from the organization was necessary to get his career on track.
Outlook on the salary cap
By allowing the Canadiens to take on the full $8.7 million Laine is owed for each of the next two years, the Blue Jackets have one of the cleanest salary cap tables of any organization. According to PuckPedia, the team enters the 2024–25 NHL season with $15.95 million in salary cap space. With the team likely unable to compete in a top-heavy Metropolitan Division this year, Waddell and the Blue Jackets could use their salary cap space by taking on a bad contract or two, or becoming a third-team broker near the trade deadline. Whichever route they take, the salary cap won’t be an issue for Columbus next season.
Fundamental questions
Who will still be in the squad at the end of next year? The biggest trade piece for Columbus next year is Provorov, who may be one of the better options available at the deadline next year. The left-handed Russian is entering the final year of a six-year, $40.5 million contract he originally signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and could very well play top-four minutes on almost any team in the league. The Blue Jackets also have the advantage of being able to keep 50% of Provorov’s salary, but it may not net them much more as this becomes more commonplace with each season. An outside candidate would be captain Boone Jenner given his solid play on both sides of the puck and his relatively low salary of $3.75 million over the next two years. Depending on how the transfer market plays out during the regular season, Jenner could give Columbus a decent amount of draft capital and another roster spot for their young players.
Which player will take the next step? The Blue Jackets have not had a player score more than 80 points since Artemi Panarin scored 87 points in the 2018/19 season. Gaudreau has not been that player so far, although he is close in the 2022/23 season. The team desperately needs a star player to take the lead, and their best hope for that is in the form of Adam Fantilli. The University of Michigan graduate was selected third overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and finished his rookie season with 12 goals and 27 points in 49 games. Although he was hampered by a calf injury last year, Fantilli is still an elite talent and could score 50 points as early as next season. He’s not typically considered a top free agent target – the Blue Jackets need to develop one of their younger prospects into the player they desperately need.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.
