Blue Jackets Reunion With Saad Would Benefit Both Sides

Since then, we’ve seen almost the entire roster turn over, with only Zach Werenski and Boone Jenner remaining. Two rookie head coaches, Brad Larsen and Pascal Vincent, failed to make an impact and a new management team took over. 

Things have changed considerably for Saad as well. He’s no longer the highly-touted 22-year-old with high potential, coming off of two recent Stanley Cup wins with the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s gone back to Chicago, spent some time in Colorado and then moved on to St. Louis. Now, he’s an aging veteran in the back half of his career with his prime either nearing an end or behind him entirely. 

Saad Is a Strong Fit in Columbus

There are a few reasons why a return to Columbus would make sense for Saad, even though it’ll be reuniting with mainly just the city and fans rather than former teammates. His best offensive years came as a member of the Blue Jackets. He finished with 53 points in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, which remains a career-high. In his first season in Columbus, he eclipsed the 30-goal mark for the only time in his career when he found the back of the net 31 times in 78 games. Even though the team didn’t find much success during his time in Union Blue, he found a considerable amount of individual success.

For Saad, Columbus would be a great environment for him to come back to. It’s a city he’s familiar with, they’re battling for the playoffs and the current injury situation allows him to immediately slot into the lineup. While he’d likely be a bottom-six forward once everyone is healthy, he easily could play up in the lineup and regain his confidence as well. Considering James van Riemsdyk is currently on the second line, Saad could easily take that spot as a more offensive threat and allow van Riemsdyk to slide back to the third or fourth line. 

Oddly enough, coming to Columbus would also take a considerable amount of pressure off of Saad as well. It’s rare that’s the case for a team fighting for a playoff spot, but the team has already exceeded all expectations this season. No matter what happens, this has been a season that Blue Jackets fans will look back on fondly, although playoffs would undoubtedly be the icing on the cake. If Saad could help them reach that goal, it would only increase his popularity in Columbus. 

Meanwhile, for the organization, some of the aspects of Saad’s game that made him worth acquiring a decade ago are still present. He’s still a two-time Stanley Cup champion, who will bring some leadership that he was taught by one of the NHL’s greatest captains of this past generation, Jonathan Toews. As recently as last season, he showed that he still has the ability to contribute offensively as he scored 26 goals in 82 games. 

This season, Saad played almost everywhere imaginable in the Blues’ lineup. He spent the most time with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, who have had strange seasons of their own as they were benched recently against the Utah Hockey Club (from ‘Blues’ Robert Thomas opens up on his offensive slump,’ The Athletic, Jan 24, 2025). That line combination only played 71:30 of ice time together though, and Saad bounced around a considerable amount, spending time with Brayden Schenn, Dylan Holloway, Oskar Sundqvist and almost everyone else on the team at certain points of the season. Ultimately, in his final game as a Blue, he played alongside Zach Bolduc and Nathan Walker. 

Although Saad’s offensive numbers have dropped a bit this season (16 points in 43 games), he typically earns praise for his efforts defensively as well. Considering the Blue Jackets don’t have a problem scoring – they’re currently seventh in the league in goals for – but struggle defensively, Saad could be a big addition for his defense alone. 

Ultimately, a reunion with Saad makes a lot of sense at this point in time. He’s not the player that he was during his last stint in Columbus, but the current iteration of the Blue Jackets don’t need him to be. He’d be a strong addition to the bottom-six who could contribute at both ends of the ice. If the Blue Jackets get lucky though, he could be even more than that. His contract was the main reason he passed through waivers unclaimed, but for the right price, he’s still a valuable NHL player.