Are the Columbus Blue Jackets better today than they were when the season ended?
That's the question, and we probably won't have a good answer for that until well after next season starts.
The offseason is far from over, but after the bulk of the major free agents signed on July 1, and teams pick through the remaining crop of available players to fill various needs, the feeling amongst Blue Jackets fans was one of underwhelmingness as the hours ticked on by through the initial opening hours and days of free agency.
My enthusiasm for a summer full of big upgrades quickly fizzled following major inactivity by the club.
This was going to be president and general manager Don Waddell's first true offseason from the start, with a full regular season under his belt, and now was supposed to be the time to make big splashy upgrades to the team. The chatter we kept hearing about the team from various outlets and sources was something along the lines of keep an eye on the Blue Jackets or they're a team to watch this offseason.
The draft came and went, as the idea of trading one or both first-round draft picks to help the team now never materialized. The chatter of potentially agreeing to a sign-and-trade with the Islanders for defenseman Noah Dobson looked too rich for the taking. The Jackets were seemingly ready to part with restricted free agent Dmitri Voronkov as part of a package, and whether or not Dobson would have minded playing in Columbus, he was very happy to go to the Canadiens.
Columbus has since agreed to a new two-year deal with Voronkov.
Ed Francis and I drafted respective pieces on the forwards and defensmen the Blue Jackets could sign in free agency, and then July 1 came and went with a loud thud.
Big names, including Aaron Ekblad, stayed in Florida, Mitch Marner dreamed of Vegas, Nikolaj Ehlers went to Carolina, and a flurry of other potential options all went elsewhere.
There are a couple of schools of thought here.
Signing the big name to a big number is always fun and exciting, but is it the right fit?
It didn't appear the Blue Jackets were in on many, if any, of the available big names, such as Ehlers, 29 years old, who got six years with the Hurricanes. Many teams would have an interest in Marner, 28 years old, coming off his first career 100-point season — 102 to be precise — but the teams he was interested in were limited.
You make things work when things basically fall in your lap, like with Johnny Gaudreau in 2022. With a player like Ehlers, or a similar comp, they probably make your team better and give even more offensive pop, but how does the player and contract age?
Either way, as it stands, Columbus is banking on more of the same from its current offensive group.
The evolution of Kirill Marchenko played a big part in that, as his 2024-25 season represented a 32-point increase from 2023-24, setting career highs for points (74), goals (31), and assists (43). After an injury-shortened rookie season, Adam Fantilli was one of four Blue Jackets to play all 82 games, co-leading the team with 31 goals along with Marchenko, and had a 27-point increase from 2023-24. Werenski, as great a player as he's been for the Blue Jackets since 2016-17, simply leveled up in 2024-25, playing at an MVP clip with career highs in points (82), goals (23), and assists (59). He finished second in the voting for the Norris and seventh for the Hart. Werenski also played 81 games, the second-most he's played since playing all 82 games in 2018-19. Kent Johnson (57 points, 24 goals, 33 assists) was back to resembling the player the Blue Jackets thought they had when he cashed in a 40-point campaign in his first full season in 2022-23.
Even with a rising salary cap, these players will all be up for new deals in the not-so-distant future.
The club set franchise records for goals (267) and goals for per game (3.26). They also allowed 267 goals. In 2023-24, they scored 234 and allowed 298. The year before that, 213 scored, 329 allowed.
Can they keep the puck out?
The Jackets had to keep Ivan Provorov, or the team probably would be worse right now than when the season ended. And that's after keeping waiver pickup Dante Fabbro long term.
People are right to question the Jackets for essentially standing pat with their defensive corps. While things might not have played out exactly the way management would have drawn it up, Columbus had to appropriately respond after other potential moves fell through. The club is banking on stability from the same group they ended the season with, which wasn't the case for much of last year, taking into account a nearly lost season due to injury for Erik Gudbranson, acquiring Fabbro in November, and calling up Mateychuk in December.
"We didn't start that way (last year). We lost Goody (Erik Gudbranson), we picked (Dante) Fabbro up on waivers, and then we brought (Denton) Mateychuk up after 30 games." President of Hockey Ops/GM Don Waddell on how the defensive situation could be different this season. #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) July 1, 2025
When the group of Fabbro, Mateychuk, Provorov, and Werenski was in the lineup, the results reflected the surprising playoff potential we saw throughout the year.
This took some digging, but it was worth it:
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) July 4, 2025
When Zach Werenski, Dante Fabbro, Ivan Provorov and Denton Mateychuk were all in the lineup, #CBJ was 26-13-2 and allowed 2.95 goals-per-game.
And when one or more didn't dress? 14-20-7, 3.56 goals against.https://t.co/gD7Z8bBlrO
A good defense in front of the goaltender helps, but the last line of defense is the area that remains the biggest question mark.
By now, it seems we know what we're getting with Elvis Merzlikins. Merzlikins was markedly better last year as he won 26 games, the second-most wins of any season in his career since winning 27 in 2021-22. His 52 starts were the most since he made 56 in 2021-22. His goals against average improved to 3.18, from 3.45 the season before, and 4.23 in 2022-23. His .892 save percentage was down from the season before, when it was .897.
A sub-900 save percentage isn't good enough. Can Merzlikins be a league-average goalie?
Jet Greaves will finally have his opportunity to stick with the team, whether as a primary backup or especially as a starter challenging Merzlikins for more time in the crease.
With $16.34 million in cap space according to PuckPedia, Waddell could still make a splash via trade. Even multiple trades. And there's always waiver activity as the season draws closer. Whether moves happen or not, the team is going to have to continue taking large steps, starting with its core that got them to this point.
