Blue Jackets Betting Big on Themselves in 2025-26

Provorov made his intentions clear. He wanted to remain a Blue Jacket. While he admitted things got stressful in the days leading up to the contract, he always felt comfortable with the Blue Jackets.

For Provorov, it starts with his teammates.

“I think starting from the locker room, I think it’s a great group of guys,” Provorov said. “Everyone gets along. It’s a great coaching staff. I think we took a tremendous stride last year…I think it’s a great city with a great fanbase. Overall, it’s great living, easy, peaceful, great place to raise a family.”

“I think we’ve taken tremendous strides in the past two years. Even from the start of last season, I think we got better and better as the season went on. There are some times where there are downs and there are ups, but I think our team managed those a lot better than we did two years ago. I think we’re able to learn how to win and how to put winning streaks together. I think our whole team is pretty young. Our core group is late 20s, early 30s. I think overall every player on this team took strides in getting better and I think that’s exciting. I think if we’re able to put our best team game forward, I think we can win a lot of games and hopefully win a championship.”

Provorov took things a step further with having another year with mostly the same players on the blue line. He says everyone is hungry for more.

“I think missing (Erik Gudbranson) most of the season. I think it just overall helps us having him back,” Provorov said. “I think just another season together as a D-core will be helpful. Another year in the same system will be helpful. Overall, I think this team is hungry to get better. I think overall having everyone that was there last year come back I think is a great thing for this team and I think we can take massive strides in the defensive aspect of the game.”

Like Provorov, Fabbro made his intentions clear early on in the process. He wanted to return to the Blue Jackets. He too believes in where the team is going.

“I couldn’t be more happy to be back a part of this organization and back in that locker room with all those guys,” Fabbro said. “I think we really have a good thing going on there. So going into next year, (we) have some more expectations of our team and continue to push to be the best we can…I think in and throughout the lineup, you see how dangerous we can be when we’re playing really well and playing together.”

Perhaps one of the happiest Blue Jackets to see Fabbro back was Zach Werenski. Fabbro made it a point to immediately text both Werenski and Boone Jenner when the contract was signed to let them know he was staying.

“(Werenski) was obviously happy to see me come back,” Fabbro said. “I think the last text was, ‘Let’s take a step next year and continue to build this thing.’ It felt great, and he couldn’t be more right…I’ve told people this lots of times. It was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me (joining the Blue Jackets.)”

New Guys Eager to Help

The Blue Jackets aren’t running it back exactly as they did in 2024-25. They completed a trade with the Colorado Avalanche to acquire Charle Coyle and Miles Wood.

Each see where the team is trying to go. They are eager to help out in any way they can.

“I’ve been a fan of them from afar, just knowing that these guys are going to be a team to reckon with as we go on here,” Coyle said. “Being able to join a team like that, it’s an exciting thing…This team has been up and coming for a few years now. They’re right on the cusp, and I want to come in and just try to help out with that. That’s all. Bring my game and ease into this team and see what we can accomplish.”

Wood says he is feeling better health wise after dealing with back issues last season. He said he needed stem-cell treatments. But he is ready to contribute now.

“They’ve made huge strides over the past few years here,” Wood said. “For them to view me as a player that can help them try to be a playoff team consistently, that’s what I want to do and I can’t wait to help them.”

Betting on Themselves

The Blue Jackets are talking the talk when it comes to their belief in themselves. Now they must walk the walk to show that belief in their actions.

Why do they hold this kind of belief in themselves? They got within two points of making the playoffs while missing key players at different points in the year. Their young players took massive strides.

While the goals against was a massive problem, it got better late in the season to keep them in the playoff hunt. In net, the Blue Jackets are set to run Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves as their 1-2. Daniil Tarasov was traded to the Florida Panthers.

The Blue Jackets are betting on Merzlikins and Greaves to stabilize the net together. The team is betting on the defense to continue to build what they started last season. They’re betting that the forwards along with the new additions will produce enough to generate enough wins.

Circling back to Provorov and Fabbro is a big bet by the Blue Jackets on themselves. In a bone-dry market with very few options available, this is what the team had to do.

Whether it’s the right call or not remains to be seen and will be fascinating to watch. But the one thing we cannot question is this. These Blue Jackets believe in each other and believe they are capable of big things.

The time has come for them to prove it now.