The city of Columbus, much like its hockey team, has a history of quietly building, defying expectations, and eventually, making a statement. After a 2024-25 season that oscillated between profound challenge and surprising triumph, the Columbus Blue Jackets are no longer content with moral victories. They enter the 2025-26 campaign with a singular, palpable ambition: a playoff berth. This isn`t just about making the postseason; it`s about validating a long-term strategy of development, shrewd acquisitions, and forging an identity built on resilience.
Adam Fantilli, a cornerstone of the Blue Jackets` future, celebrates a crucial goal during a previous season.
The Architects of Ambition: Core Players Stepping Up
Last season was a revelation, particularly for key individuals whose performances catalyzed the team`s unexpected surge. Defenseman Zach Werenski, for instance, didn`t just have a good year; he had a Norris Trophy-finalist year. His 82 points in 81 games led the team, and his uncanny ability to generate even-strength offense from the blueline was simply unmatched by any other NHL defenseman. Werenski is no longer merely a good player; he is an elite offensive general, demanding an opponent`s respect and providing a consistent engine for Columbus`s attack. The expectation for 2025-26 isn`t just for him to repeat it, but to cement his status, perhaps even with an eye on Olympic competition.
Up front, the narrative was equally compelling. The top forward line was a consistent threat, and the maturation of Adam Fantilli in his second, fully healthy NHL season was a pivotal development. Fantilli transitioned from promising rookie to a legitimate top-six center, demonstrating the blend of skill, physicality, and hockey IQ that made him a high draft pick. Alongside him, Kirill Marchenko emerged as a genuine breakout star, finding new levels of consistency and offensive creativity. But perhaps most indicative of the team`s newfound depth and grit was Mathieu Olivier, whose surprising 18 goals complemented his established reputation as a tough, reliable fourth-liner. These aren`t just individual stories; they are threads in a tapestry of a team learning how to win.
Strategic Depth: Reinforcing the Ranks
A perennial challenge for the Blue Jackets has been cultivating a deep, reliable corps of centers. Entering 2025-26, that landscape has notably shifted. With Sean Monahan and Fantilli anchoring the top two lines, the summer acquisition of Charlie Coyle adds another significant layer. Coyle, a veteran with a 25-goal season on his resume, brings a potent combination of size, skill, and snarl to the third line. He doesn`t need to be a primary scorer in Columbus, but his ability to drive play, contribute defensively, and provide secondary offense is precisely what elevates a good lineup to a great one. If he hits 20 goals again, it`s a strong indicator that the team`s offense, which finished eighth-best in the league last year, has truly found its stride.
Further bolstering the middle, Isac Lundestrom is penciled in as the fourth-line center, flanked by tough customers like Miles Wood and Mathieu Olivier. Lundestrom, at 25, has quietly developed into a competent all-around center. While another 16-goal season (as he had four years ago) might be an ambitious target in this role, his presence provides invaluable depth. This quartet down the middle – Monahan, Fantilli, Coyle, and Lundestrom – represents a significant upgrade and offers tactical flexibility that Columbus has sorely lacked. Moreover, the team is banking on better injury luck after losing key players like Yegor Chinakov, Monahan, and Boone Jenner for considerable time last season. Fewer man-games lost will undoubtedly be a force multiplier.
Burning Questions: The Path Ahead
As training camp looms, several critical questions cast long shadows over the Blue Jackets` playoff aspirations. The answers to these will largely dictate the narrative of their season:
1. Can Jet Greaves Win the Crease?
While Columbus`s offense was potent last season, their defensive consistency, particularly in net, left much to be desired, allowing the eighth-most goals in the league. While Elvis Merzlikins returns, the spotlight is firmly on 24-year-old Jet Greaves. His late-season call-up in April was nothing short of spectacular: a 5-0-0 record with a stunning .975 save percentage, 0.80 GAA, and two shutouts. Over 21 NHL games in the past three seasons, he boasts an impressive .924 save percentage. This isn`t just a flash in the pan; there`s genuine hope that Greaves could be the long-sought-after No. 1 goalie. The challenge now is translating that short-sample brilliance into a full season`s consistent performance. The crease battle will be fierce, and its outcome will fundamentally shape the team`s fortunes.
2. What Will Come of Yegor Chinakov`s Trade Request?
The situation with Yegor Chinakov is a simmering pot of intrigue. After a red-hot start last season, logging 14 points in 21 games before an upper-body injury sidelined him, Chinakov struggled upon his return, found himself moved down the depth chart, and eventually, became a healthy scratch. A subsequent trade request, confirmed by GM Don Waddell, paints a picture of friction, reportedly stemming from misunderstandings with head coach Dean Evason and the player`s difficulty handling healthy scratches. Chinakov`s talent is undeniable; he`s penciled in as a second or third-line winger. How this saga unfolds – whether he reintegrates, forces a move, or becomes a distraction – will be a significant test for both the player and the organization, especially with his contract expiring after this season.
3. Can Zach Werenski Deliver Another Norris-Caliber Season?
The weight of expectation now rests firmly on Werenski`s shoulders. Following a season where he finished second in Norris voting and led the team in scoring, the question isn`t just if he can perform, but if he can maintain that elite, difference-making level. Driven by the lure of Olympic competition and the bitter taste of missing the playoffs by just two points last year, Werenski`s motivation is clearly high. However, sustaining such a demanding performance over 82 games, especially as opponents now game-plan specifically for him, is a monumental task. For Columbus to make that long-anticipated playoff push, Werenski`s continued excellence is not just desired; it is absolutely essential.
4. The Cayden Lindstrom Enigma: Future Star or Waiting Game?
The fourth-overall pick in 2024, Cayden Lindstrom, represents the tantalizing future. A six-foot-four, 215-pound scoring center, he projects as a top-two NHL forward. However, his follow-up season was largely wiped out by a back injury and subsequent surgery. While he returned for a brief playoff stint in the WHL and played in the Memorial Cup, his true test begins this season at Michigan State, where he`ll face older, stronger competition. The question is whether he can regain the form and confidence that made him such a high pick, and how quickly he can translate that potential into NHL readiness. He`s a star in waiting, but the waiting game itself holds its own suspense.
Conclusion: The Stage is Set
The Columbus Blue Jackets are no longer a rebuilding project shrouded in perpetual optimism. They are a team forged in the fires of adversity, refined by strategic additions, and buoyed by emerging star power. The emotional resilience shown last season, which saw them pull together through a tumultuous start and narrowly miss the playoffs, has evolved into a quiet determination. The pieces are largely in place, the depth is improved, and the individual talents are undeniable.
The 2025-26 season will be a defining chapter. It will test their goaltending, their locker room chemistry, and their ability to perform under the bright lights of heightened expectations. This isn`t about hoping for a playoff spot anymore; it’s about seizing it. The unfinished symphony of the Columbus Blue Jackets is poised for its crescendo, and the hockey world is watching to see if they can finally play their way into contention.
