<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="851" height="1000" src="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-171955" srcset="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2.png 851w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2-255x300.png 255w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2-768x902.png 768w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2-150x176.png 150w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2-300x353.png 300w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2-600x705.png 600w, https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CBJ_DFOLineup_Aug28v2-696x818.png 696w" sizes="(max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px"></a></figure>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">LAST SEASON</h2>



<p>I feel like I need to put a trigger warning for <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/columbus-blue-jackets/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> fans before beginning this section, because it went about as poorly as it could possibly go. After an offseason spent trying to solidify the team and at least make them competitive by acquiring defensemen Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov, the Blue Jackets looked to hire a new head coach that would help change the culture and make them competitive. They did so by hiring Mike Babcock, who had a much-maligned exit with the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/toronto-maple-leafs/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> that exposed his toxic methods of managing players.</p>



<p>Somehow, that hiring went worse than even the most pessimistic fans predicted, as Babcock didn’t even make it to training camp before it was revealed that he was looking through all his players’ photos to judge their character. So in came assistant coach Pascal Vincent, who was an improvement off the ice but not on the ice. He consistently fumbled the usage of the Blue Jackets’ young talent, played Patrik Laine at center for no apparent reason, and just did not get anything out of a roster that had a bit of potential. And while all that was going on, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins requested a trade, Laine landed in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, and top rookie Adam Fantilli suffered a season-ending skate cut to his calf in January. To tie a bow on it: long-time general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was fired during the winter and Vincent got his pink slip after the season.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="253"></div>



<p>The Blue Jackets finished with a 27-43-12 record that was the fourth-worst in the league and the worst in the Eastern Conference. They got Cayden Lindstrom out of it, and with GM Don Waddell and coach Dean Evason in the fold, the Blue Jackets will look to make a better attempt at changing the culture and moving on from last season.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY ADDITIONS &amp; DEPARTURES</h2>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Additions</h3>



<p>Sean Monahan, C<br>Jordan Harris, D<br>Jack Johnson, D<br>Dylan Gambrell, C</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Departures</h3>



<p>Patrick Laine, LW (Mtl)<br>Alexandre Texier, C (StL)<br>Adam Boqvist, D (Fla)<br>Jake Bean, D (Cgy)<br>Alex Nylander, LW (Tor-AHL)</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">OFFENSE</h2>



<p>The Blue Jackets were far from the worst team at generating offense last season, but they were still in the bottom half of the league, whether that be in goals (tied for 24th in the league with 2.85 per game), 5v5 shot attempts (18th with 59.47 per 60 minutes) or 5v5 expected goals (20th with 2.53 per 60). On top of that, they only had three players eclipse 40 points (Johnny Gaudreau, Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko), and only two players eclipse 20 goals (Marchenko and Boone Jenner). In their defense, it was a revolving door of players in 2023-24 due to injuries to the top guys, with 37 skaters playing a game last season and only eight players getting into at least 70 games, but even then only seven players that played for the team all season averaged at least 0.5 points per game. Their power play didn’t help either, which clicked at a horrid 15.1% that was the second-worst rate in the league.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="252"></div>



<p>Columbus didn’t exactly make any improvements to their offense this summer. Sean Monahan joins the team on a pricey five-year deal to reunite with former Flames teammate Gaudreau, but Monahan is likely the only big name add who can contribute offensively, and even that comes with an inconsistent scoring history. The Blue Jackets also moved on from Laine, trading him to the Montreal Canadiens, and for all his faults, he could at least generate offense, particularly in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Overall, the additions and subtractions to the team are at best a wash offensively and at worst a downgrade.</p>



<p>Where Columbus will likely look for improvement offensively is where most rebuilding teams look for improvement: from within, via their young core of Marchenko, Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson and David Jiricek. While the aforementioned issues of their usage last season didn’t help things, they haven’t quite produced as expected at the NHL level, and they have the ceiling to really turn the Blue Jackets’ offense around. Maybe they can take that next step, or maybe Evason brings some change to their offensive game, but otherwise, it’s just going to be Gaudreau, Werenski, and possibly Jenner and Monahan carrying the load this season, and that won’t get them very far.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="211"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DEFENSE</h2>



<p>While the Blue Jackets were merely mediocre offensively, they were horrible defensively. They were the second-worst in the league in goals against per game (3.63), third-worst in 5v5 shot attempts against per 60 (65.84), and third-worst in 5v5 expected goals against per 60 (3.02). Their penalty kill was a slight improvement, but even then, a 76.3% rate that ranked 26th in the league isn’t something to hang your hat on either. In most facets of the game, they couldn’t defend.</p>



<p>That’s what happens when you make a couple of big swings to improve your defense and miss. Severson barely kept his head above water with a 0.3 defensive goals above replacement, but Provorov was predictably a mess in his own end in tough minutes at -3.3. Add in the fact that Werenski has never been good defensively and Jiricek is still trying to get accustomed to the NHL game, and that left Erik Gudbranson as the returning Blue Jackets defenseman with the best defensive GAR at 2.2. Columbus probably doesn’t want to strive for that going forward. They added two new faces to their blueline, with Jordan Harris being an intriguing acquisition that could make the Laine trade pay off well for Columbus, along with a returning face in Jack Johnson who has only shown signs of competence in the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/colorado-avalanche/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colorado Avalanche</a>‘s unique team structure, so I wouldn’t hold my breath on the blueline being the reason for any big improvements unless Jiricek turns into a Norris Trophy candidate.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="249"></div>



<p>Up front, it’s not a lot better. Only Chinakhov and Kent Johnson had a defensive GAR higher than 1 on Columbus, which is at least a good sign for two players they want to be part of their long-term core. But when there isn’t much beyond that, it’s hard to get too excited about improvements for this group defensively when there weren’t any significant changes in the summer. Heck, Monahan probably makes the group worse with his -5.3 defensive GAR from last season. Once again, they’ll be hoping for improvements internally from their younger players, as well as the coaching to make a difference.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">GOALTENDING</h2>



<p>Considering how bad the defense was for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24, it probably comes as a bit of a surprise to find out that the goaltending wasn’t <em>completely</em> terrible. At 5v5, they were 16th with a 91.23% save percentage and then at all strengths, they were 21st at 89.53%. Individually, they got a solid performance from Daniil Tarasov (4.85 5v5 goals saved above expected), but Merzlikins, Jet Greaves, and Spencer Martin were a bit more middling (0.83, 0.23 and -0.97 respectively).</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="186"></div>



<p>Despite a trade request from Merzlikins last season, both him and Tarasov will be returning to the Blue Jackets’ crease in 2024-25, and while Merzlikins got close to double the starts that Tarasov did, the team should probably aim to split their starts more this year. Last season’s 5v5 GSAx from Tarasov was higher than any result that Merzlikins has gotten in five seasons, so for now, he seems to be the better option in net. Greaves has also been solid in the 10 games he’s played in his career thus far, so even if one gets hurt, he is a solid replacement. No one on this team will be good enough to steal the show and carry a poor Blue Jackets team into the playoffs, but they won’t singlehandedly sink their season either.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="134"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">COACHING</h2>



<p>Coaching may have been the Blue Jackets’ biggest issue in 2023-24. They made the gamble on Babcock that failed miserably and quickly pivoted to Vincent, throwing him in a situation where he had no time to prepare. He seemed to actively try to do exactly what the team didn’t need to be doing in a rebuilding phase, which is put your young stars in the worst possible situations to develop them. There’s being tough on them and making them earn a spot on the team, and then there’s taking a spot that they’ve earned away from them for no apparent reason, and Vincent crossed that line numerous times over the course of the season, especially near the end when the team had little to play for.</p>



<p>While there was still some consideration for Vincent to return this season, Waddell opted to go with the more experienced Evason to man the bench in Columbus. While he also takes more of the tough love approach to his coaching style, there’s at least a bit of reasonability to how he approaches it that Vincent lacked. Evason comes with 251 regular season games as a coach with a 147-77-27 record, and playoff appearances in every season that he completed with the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/minnesota-wild/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Minnesota Wild</a>, although he does have an 8-15 record in the playoffs.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="219"></div>



<p>Also in those five seasons, Evason’s coached the Wild to 5v5 expected goals shares of 53.8%, 53.72%, 51.04%, 52.43% and 47.85%. For reference, the Blue Jackets haven’t had a positive 5v5 expected goal share since 2019-20 and have only once had one above 51% since the stat has been tracked. Whether Evason was a beneficiary of a much better Wild team or can extract a similar performance from the Blue Jackets may be a big factor for their improvement, especially when they didn’t make any significant changes to the roster.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ROOKIES</h2>



<p>This category is wide open for the Blue Jackets considering the current state of the team. They have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, but after graduating several players in recent seasons, the next wave may still be a year away.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="7" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="134"></div>



<p>Up front, it starts with Cayden Lindstrom, Columbus’ fourth-overall pick from the 2024 draft, someone who will likely give them a strong 1-2 center punch down the road with Fantilli. A back injury hindered his development last year, which might mean another season in the WHL is the smarter option for him, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him at least get a nine-game stint with the Blue Jackets to start the year. First, he has to get on the ice, though. He was ruled out of their prospect tournament and will be limited to start training camp as they manage the injury cautiously. On the wing, Gavin Brindley could also get a few shots with the team after getting into one NHL game last season, but it’s also likely that he gets a bit more seasoning before getting a full time role with the team.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="8" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="148"></div>



<p>After acquiring Harris, they aren’t likely to have a roster spot open for a rookie D-man, but Denton Mateychuk is a high-end prospect for the team who could potentially find a role on the NHL team at some point next year if he acquits himself well in the AHL this season.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BURNING QUESTIONS</h2>



<p><strong>1. Will the Blue Jackets’ young core take the next step?</strong> The Blue Jackets have one of the more intriguing groups of young talent in the league, with the likes of Fantilli, Marchenko, Sillinger, Chinakhov, Johnson and Jiricek already beginning to make an impact at the NHL level. And yet, none of them has really made significant noise yet (although some of that blame can also be given to Vincent and his interesting deployment of the younger players). If Columbus wants to take a step forward, they need the guys that they’re building their future around to take a step forward as well.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="9" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="154"></div>



<p><strong>2. Will Don Waddell and Dean Evason right the ship? </strong>The Blue Jackets have had an interesting culture off the ice. They held on to Kekalainen for 11 seasons despite middling results and one playoff series win, all the while recently cycling through four different coaches in the span of four seasons (and three in the last year). Now they have Waddell and Evason, who both generally got good results with their previous teams and could maybe bring that same experience and culture to a Columbus team in need of a shift.</p>



<p><strong>3. Will Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan recapture their magic from Calgary? </strong>The Blue Jackets’ biggest addition this summer was paying up for Monahan (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/the-worst-contracts-signed-in-2024-nhl-free-agency-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">perhaps paying a bit too much</a>) to give them another solid option down the middle this season. They also likely signed him in hopes of seeing him rejuvenate their big free agent signing from 2022 in Gaudreau. He hasn’t quite performed at the level that many had hoped he would after joining Columbus, so they’re hoping that a reunion may see him reach the heights of 2018-19 or 2021-22 again. The duo spent nine seasons together in Calgary, often on the same line, so maybe it will be just what Gaudreau needs.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="10" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="208"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">PREDICTION</h2>



<p>The Blue Jackets have spent the past two seasons at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and with just 59 and 66 points in those two seasons, they’d need a lot to go right to improve by 25 points and get back into the playoffs. If the veterans play to the peak of their abilities, the young guns take big strides forward, and Evason can get a solid structure together, <em>maybe</em> they can at least be in the conversation for a spot. But while I’d expect a bit more of an improvement from the past two years, it still seems like they’ll finish closer to those previous two point totals than they do a playoff spot next year.</p>



<p><em>Advanced stats courtesy of</em> <a href="https://evolving-hockey.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolving Hockey</a>.</p>



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<p>POST SPONSORED BY bet365</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="11" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="131"></div>



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Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli and defenseman Zach Werenski