The Columbus Blue Jackets took a monumental step forward last season. They had career years from several of their younger guys that propelled them to a near-miss of the playoffs. For a team that’s missed the postseason the last five years in a row, you can bet they are hungry to take that next step to bring an 83rd game to the schedule in 2025-26. There are a few Blue Jackets’ players with important storylines to watch which will have an impact on that goal. Let’s take a look.
Yegor Chinakhov: Will He Stay or Will He Go?
One of the Blue Jackets’ young players, Yegor Chinakhov, made it clear he was unhappy and looking for a trade out of the Buckeye State. This reportedly was because of a clash between him and head coach Dean Evason, which was evident at the end of last season after he had once again been riddled with injury and, upon returning, was often a healthy scratch. Reportedly, that has been a strain on their relationship.
The trade request was made public by his agent Shumi Babaev at the beginning of the summer, but there has been no movement on that front. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic’s latest report on Chinakhov says that player and team have not yet reached the point of no return. Chinakhov has also made his way into Columbus early to get ready for the season (from ‘Updates on Blue Jackets’ Yegor Chinakhov and Adam Fantilli as training camp nears,’ The Athletic, Sept. 7, 2025).
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If Chinakhov’s wish is granted and he finds a new home, or if things are able to be turned around, it will be a major storyline to watch. The young Russian is still only 24 and has an elite skating ability with a cannon of a shot. If he is able to stay healthy and starts to put it all together this season, it could change his relationship with Evason, and he could decide to stay. Or this could be a repeat of the Jonathan Drouin trade request to the Tampa Bay Lightning a decade ago, which had no immediate action, and it was eventually fulfilled a season later.
Adam Fantilli: Will Sophomore Slump Bump Back to His Third Season?
Most NHL players suffer through some form of a sophomore slump; that wasn’t the case for Adam Fantilli in 2024-25. He missed 33 games in his first campaign with a lacerated calf, but overall showed well. With 12 goals and 27 points in 49 games, he was on pace for 20 goals and 45 points. That would have made him tied for third in goals and fourth in points among first-year players. With that production, he certainly would have been in the running for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year had he not taken that skate blade to the calf.
When many would take a step back, Fantilli’s second season was a step forward. 31 goals and 54 points are about as far from a sophomore slump as you can get. We often hear from scouts and general managers that NHL development is seldom a straight and upward trajectory. Generally, there are some ebbs and flows in the process. That has me wondering if Fantilli’s sophomore slump will be delayed a season, since this will be his second full season. If he’s able to buck the trend altogether and still continue to grow, he could really take a leap and become one of the better young centers in the league. Whichever way he goes will be a real story to watch.
Jet Greaves: Is He Capable of Being a Full-Time NHLer?
The Blue Jackets have had a persisting problem since goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky left them in 2019’s free agent frenzy: a lack of quality netminding. After trying to shove square pegs Elvis Merzlikins, Joonas Korpisalo, and Daniil Tarasov into the round hole of their starting goalie position to no avail, a new name has entered the chat.
Jet Greaves was a free agent signing who appeared seemingly out of nowhere after a lost COVID season. He’s been around the organization for a while, playing American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Cleveland Monsters as far back as 2020-21, and 21 NHL games with the Blue Jackets going back to 2022-23. He’s shown quite well over that stretch with a .924 save percentage (SV%). His most recent season with the team was his most impressive, with a .934 SV% in 11 games, of which he won seven and posted his first two career shutouts. He single-handedly kept the team in the playoff picture through April.
Whether or not he can sustain those numbers over a full season is to be determined. He will not be the team’s starting goalie yet, unless he can steal the job from Merzlikins. Most reasonably, the team can hope that Greaves at least lightens the load for the Latvian, who is not as much of a lost cause as many would have you believe. If the two are able to split starts, the team’s overall goaltending should be better, which could be enough to get them into the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets will be an interesting team to watch this season. For the first time in several years, there is a tangible source of optimism around this squad. There are many storylines leading into the fresh campaign that will be huge factors in converting that optimism into results. We’ll see how the Chinakhov, Fantilli, and Greaves stories progress as they hope to make their way back into the postseason for the first time since 2020.
