Summer synopsis for the Columbus Blue Jackets

It’s been a summer of change for the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The team has a new general manager for the first time in over a decade with Don Waddell tasked to man the ship. Columbus also has a new head coach in Dean Evason as the team looks to turn the corner in its rebuild. 

The Blue Jackets have disappointed immensely since losing in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, as they’ve compiled a record of 107-155-40 (.354 winning percentage). 

As one of the younger teams in the league, the Blue Jackets will be relying more on their younger players to take the next step and pull the organization back to contention.

Draft

1-4: C Cayden Lindstrom, Medicine Hat (WHL)
2-36: D Charlie Elick, Brandon (WHL)
2-60: G Evan Gardner, Saskatoon (WHL)
3-86: D Luca Marrelli, Oshawa (OHL)
4-101: D Tanner Henricks, Lincoln (USHL)
6-165: D Luke Ashton, Langley (BCHL)

It was going to be difficult for Columbus to miss out on a top prospect with the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. The team ultimately took the premier power forward available in Cayden Lindstrom. Lindstrom combines size and speed and will be a valuable long-term option in Columbus’ top six. He recently wrapped up his sophomore campaign with Medicine Hat, scoring 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games. The only early concern with Lindstrom is a nagging back injury that limited him last season, but he still carries a development floor of being a second-line center.

Despite only having five picks in the remaining six rounds of the draft, the Blue Jackets got a steal towards the top of the second round with Charlie Elick, who was predicted by many to be a late first-round talent. He’s already a legitimate shutdown defenseman in the WHL who can swiftly move the puck up the ice in certain scenarios. Despite being one of the more physical defenders in his age group, he is a menace with his stick in the lanes and has the acceleration to beat opposing forecheckers to the puck on defense.

Trade acquisitions

D Jordan Harris (from Montreal)

Harris is projected to suit up in a bottom-pairing role. Over the last two seasons with the Canadiens, Harris played in 131 contests, scoring seven goals and 31 points. He still holds some prospect pedigree at 24 years old, but doesn’t project to log heavy minutes outside of five-on-five action.

If Columbus trades defenseman Ivan Provorov during the 2024-25 NHL season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, Harris could slot into the second-pairing role with fellow youngster David Jiricek. The team could then test Harris on the second powerplay unit in hopes of a breakthrough, but will likely opt for a more well-rounded option to fill that need.

UFA signings

D Jack Johnson (one-year, $775K)
F Dylan Gambrell (one-year, $775K)*
C Sean Monahan (five-year, $27.5MM)
G Zachary Sawchenko (one-year, $775K)*

* denotes two-way contract

Columbus made a big splash on the opening day of free agency with a five-year deal to Monahan. He will be reunited with winger Johnny Gaudreau from their days with the Calgary Flames with the hopes of a resurgence from the latter. Since signing a seven-year, $68.25M deal with the Blue Jackets in 2022, Gaudreau has failed to manage a point-per-game pace as he’s scored 33 goals and 134 points in 161 contests.

Monahan is coming off of a solid season split between the Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets, achieving his highest point total since the 2019-20 season. Not only was he a solid contributor offensively with 26 goals and 59 points in 83 games but Monahan also performed much better in the faceoff dot than in seasons past with a success rate of 54.9% compared to his 51.0% career average. Monahan should immediately step in as the team’s first-line center, allowing Evason and the coaching staff to take some pressure off some of their younger options down the middle.

RFA re-signings

F Yegor Chinakhov (two-year, $4.2M)
D Jake Christiansen (one-year, $775K)*
G Jet Greaves (two-year, $1.625M)
F Kent Johnson (three-year, $5.4M)
F Kirill Marchenko (three-year, $11.5M)
F Cole Sillinger (two-year, $4.5M)

* denotes two-way contract

Most of Columbus’ available cash went to its class of restricted free agents as the team committed heavily to some of their younger talent. Marchenko landed the largest deal of the group after nearly leading all Blue Jackets in goal-scoring in back-to-back campaigns. With Monahan centering his line, Marchenko could hit the 30-goal plateau as soon as this upcoming season.

Johnson, Sillinger and Chinakhov all carry similar pedigrees as prospects 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 on the defensive side of the puck to have longevity at the NHL level, and Evason’s coaching style should help in that department. None of the contracts signed this summer will hamper future spending for the Blue Jackets and will give both player and team a pathway toward a better deal in the future.

One of the sneakier contracts dolled out by Columbus this summer is the two-year, $1.625M agreement with Greaves, who is playing his way toward regular backup minutes at the NHL level. The young netminder impressed at the AHL level last season with a 30-12-4 record in 46 games with a .910 SV% and 2.93 GAA. Greaves carried his strong play into the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, where he helped push the eventual champion Hershey Bears to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on the backs of a .926 save percentage throughout the postseason.

Departures

D Jake Bean (Calgary, two-year, $3.5M)
D Nick Blankenburg (Nashville, two-year, $1.55M)*
D Adam Boqvist (Florida, one-year, $775K)*
F Joshua Dunne (Buffalo, two-year, $1.55M)*
F Brendan Gaunce (Minnesota, two-year, $1.55M)*
F Patrik Laine (traded to Montreal)
F Carson Meyer (Anaheim, one-year, $775K)*
F Alexander Nylander (signed with Toronto, AHL)
D Billy Sweezey (Boston, one-year, $775K)*
F Alexandre Texier (traded to St. Louis)

* denotes two-way contract

Columbus was not positioned to lose a lot of talent this summer with the most significant loss coming from purposeful moves. The team chose not to tender contracts to defensemen Boqvist or Bean, which allowed them to find greener pastures while thinning out the team's defensive core. Boqvist and Bean both had disappointing campaigns last year which prohibited them from having any future use to the Blue Jackets. The team can now give consistent minutes to top-prospect Jiricek after shuffling him back and forth from the AHL for much of last year.

The major loss comes up front with the team moving on from Laine and a second-round pick in 2026 in exchange for Harris. Laine was limited dramatically last season due to injuries and a lengthy stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program which caused him to only suit up in 18 games. However, the former second-overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft is only two years removed from being one of the better forwards on the roster as he scored 48 goals and 108 points in 111 games between 2021-23. No matter how much they would’ve liked to keep Laine, the Finnish sniper and his agent had already agreed with Columbus earlier in the summer that moving out of the organization was necessary to correct his career.

Salary cap outlook

By allowing the Canadiens to take on the full $8.7M owed to Laine in each of the next two years, the Blue Jackets have one of the cleaner salary cap tables of any organization. The team is headed into the 2024-25 NHL season with $15.95M available in cap space according to PuckPedia. With the team unlikely to contend in a top-heavy Metropolitan Division this year, Waddell and the Blue Jackets could weaponize their cap space by taking on a bad contract or two or could become a third-team broker closer to the trade deadline. No matter the route the Blue Jackets take, the salary cap won’t be an issue for Columbus heading into next season.

Key questions

Who will be left on the roster at the end of next year? 

The biggest trade chip for Columbus heading into next year is Provorov, who may be one of the better options available at next year’s deadline. The left-handed Russian is entering the final year of a six-year, $40.5M contract originally signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and could reasonably take on top-four minutes with almost any team in the league. 

A dark horse trade candidate would be captain Boone Jenner given his solid play on both sides of the puck and his relatively low $3.75M salary for the next two years. Depending on how the trade market develops over the regular season, Jenner could net Columbus a decent haul of draft capital and another roster opening for their prospects.

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 during the 2018-19 campaign. Gaudreau has not been that player up to this point albeit getting close during the 2022-23 season. The team desperately needs a star player to take over and their best hope of that happening is Adam Fantilli. The University of Michigan alum was the third overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft and wrapped up his rookie campaign with 12 goals and 27 points in 49 games. Although he was hampered by a calf laceration last year, Fantilli is still an elite-level prospect and could score 50 points as soon as next season. Not typically viewed as a top free-agent destination — the Blue Jackets will need to develop one of their younger prospects into the player they desperately need.