The Columbus Blue Jackets have completed most of their important business for the 2024-25 season. With the signing of Dmitri Voronkov to a two-year deal worth $8.35 million, just two RFA players remain unsigned. Those are Mikael Pyyhtia and Daemon Hunt.
Those contracts will be signed in due time. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets go into the summer months of the offseason with very little drama surrounding them. Given how some recent years have played out, this is a much-welcomed change. Barring an unexpected trade, it is expected to be a quiet summer at the corner of Front and Nationwide Boulevard.
This will be our last column of the 2024-25 season. Now is a good time to ask an important question. How should we feel about the state of the Blue Jackets going into the summer? Based on what has happened this offseason, fans appear to be split on how to feel not only about the offseason, but also the team’s immediate future in 2025-26.
There are fans that love where things are going. Then there are a segment of fans that like where things are going but have questions. There are also fans that feel pretty meh about where things stand. And then there is a small segment of fans that are worried sick that the team hasn’t done nearly enough and will fall short.
In this column, we’re going to try to outline these four groups and why they feel they way they do. In the end, we’ll try to answer the all important question combining these four groups. How should you really feel about the Blue Jackets going into 2025-26?
For the purposes of this exercise, we will categorize the groups as feeling great, feeling good, feeling meh and feeling awful. Which one of these groups represents your thoughts on the Blue Jackets? Let me know in the comments or on social media.
Feeling Great
Let’s start with the most optimistic view of the Blue Jackets. There is a small group of fans that absolutely love where the team is at. The top-six in some order will remain in tact. They added key pieces to fortify the bottom-six. They’re keeping the defense consistent with the belief that playing together will provide the chemistry needed to improve on their numbers. They also ensured that Jet Greaves will have a path to being a significant contributor in 2025-26.
Although there wasn’t a huge splash in the form of a big signing or trade, some moves were made. These moves kept their cap flexibility in order for potential future moves. Their center depth is in a great place especially adding someone like Charlie Coyle to be their 3C. Isac Lundstrom too adds to that center depth and is a good defensive 4C.
Fans in the feeling great category believe last season wasn’t a fluke and have the ability as constructed to make the playoffs in 2025-26. The team is still young but it’s very talented. They should have little issue scoring goals assuming everyone stays healthy.
These fans also believe that Adam Fantilli will eventually become the coveted 1C everyone is hoping for. While the fans in this group understand it will still take time, they can clearly see the vision and are feeling great about where things are going. This represents a small sample of fans somewhere around 10% if I had to guess.
Feeling Good, But…
These next two groups is where I think the majority of fans will be. They’ll either feel good but have some important questions or they’ll feel meh and the team will have to prove to them that things are heading in the right direction.
Fans that are feeling good with questions see the vision and see a path to being good down the road. But for the immediate future, there are significant questions that prevent them from feeling on top of the world.
First is the initial reaction of the Ivan Provorov contract. While there is an understanding that the Blue Jackets needed a second-pairing defenseman after missing out on other targets, they see the price tag. For the next seven years, it’s an average-annual value of $8.5 million. Woah.
The question in this group is was this really necessary at that price point? GM Don Waddell said after the season it was fair to wonder if the defense would be remade. They’re essentially running it back.
Second, these fans feel good about the offensive potential but wonder if it will be a repeat in a higher goals-against total. The Blue Jackets are also bringing back two of the three main goalies from last season. While they feel good about how Greaves performed, they wonder if he can do that in a larger sample size. They also wonder if Elvis Merzlikins can consistently find his best game.
Despite the questions, the overall feeling is good given that there is a defined core and a plan in place. They understand there will be bumps in the road but the overall confidence is in a good place.
Feeling Meh
Fans in this group will feel underwhelmed by what happened this offseason. Where were all the big changes that could have happened? The Blue Jackets missed the playoffs. So they’re running most of it back? Why?
Provorov might be playing on the right side again. Yes, he has done that plenty of times before. However, it’s not the preferred way to play.
What about Denton Mateychuk? With Provorov staying for seven more years, does this relegate Mateychuk to the third pair? Or will he have a lefty playing to his right? Can Damon Severson regain his form?
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This group also doesn’t have confidence in the goaltending as currently constructed. Had it been even slightly better last season, the Blue Jackets are likely a playoff team. Why couldn’t they bring someone else in?
As for the forwards, fans feeling meh are wondering why they couldn’t land another top-six player with all the cap space the Blue Jackets had. It was over $40 million at one point. Does no one want to come to Columbus?
The bottom line is fans in this group saw the moves that happened and the needle wasn’t moved in either direction. It really didn’t change their overall opinion of the state of the team. Perhaps there was some disappointment too but not to the level of our final group.
Feeling Awful
Like the feeling great group, there is a small percentage of fans that couldn’t feel worse about the state of the Blue Jackets. “More of the same” is what they’re thinking. Why should they expect something different if the most common recent result was missing out on the playoffs?
This group saw the Provorov contract and what was said about it being an egregious overpay and immediately began questioning management. They also saw the only other moves made were on the bottom-six. How can they compete with the likes of Florida or Carolina or any of the East’s best teams by mostly standing pat?
These fans focus on seeing how far away the Blue Jackets are from consistently competing for a Stanley Cup. They’ll continue to feel this way too until other, bigger moves take place. They will always focus on the negative and carry a pessimistic view no matter what good news you try to present to them. This represents a very small group of fans but they are out there.
How Should You Feel?
We see the four groups. You can clearly identify which group or groups represents your view. The bottom line is there is some truth to all four groups. Let’s explain.
Given all factors, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Here is a list of questions to consider and my answers to them. This should illustrate why there is a little bit of every group in play.
- Are the Blue Jackets a true, Stanley Cup contender as currently constructed? The answer is no. They haven’t yet shown they can get to the playoffs. They got close. You know where close only counts in. They are not to the level of the Panthers or Hurricanes, the two teams widely seen as the best in the East.
- Did the Blue Jackets improve this offseason? The answer is yes. They added Coyle, Lundestrom and Miles Wood to solidify the bottom-six. Although the top-six remained the same, that was a strength of the team. The forward group is better as a whole. Meanwhile, the jury is out on the defense and goaltending. If, and that’s a big if, everyone stays healthy, they have a path to being better and more consistent. But they could also struggle again. It will be a huge question going into 2025-26.
- Are the Blue Jackets capable of making the playoffs in 2025-26? The answer is yes. They are capable. But it won’t be easy. The talent is there. But no one is going to overlook them. Some important questions have to fall their way for them to make the dance.
- Are there components on the team that make the future bright? The answer is definitely yes. The center depth is better than ever for the Blue Jackets. They have high-skilled wingers. They have a Norris-caliber defenseman in Zach Werenski. Low-key big storyline for 2025-26. Will the Blue Jackets look at the trade deadline for goaltending help if Merzlikins/Greaves doesn’t work? Make no mistake. The Blue Jackets want the playoffs next season.
- Is there stability behind the bench and in the management chair? The answer is yes. Dean Evason is more than capable of getting teams to the playoffs. Waddell has vast experience as a manager and has a plan in place.
- Was Provorov overpaid? By what was expected in market, the answer is yes. However, it isn’t as big a deal as some say. He certainly has to live up to the bigger number. But this is also a changing market. His cap percentage will actually be lower in two years than what it was for his previous contract. It’s a new reality. Salaries are going to go up across the board. This will look better in the future but still carries risk.
- Should the Blue Jackets have made a bigger move? The answer is yes. They knew they had to try. They just weren’t able to get anything done. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. They tried to improve and then circled back on other options. That’s a sensible approach.
- What’s the bigger story in that? The bigger story is that the Blue Jackets still have a lot of work ahead of them. Players are choosing Columbus. But they are not known as a destination yet. They haven’t won enough. There is progress though. The Blue Jackets aren’t showing up on as many no-trade lists as before. Baby steps, right?
As you can see, there is a little bit of each group in play. Here is my breakdown of that.
- Feeling great: Center depth, young dynamic talent ready to take next step, stable coach and management.
- Feeling good: Progress towards playoffs, still have cap flexibility for future moves, players more welcoming to choosing Columbus, some improvement to roster.
- Feeling meh: Defense/goaltending able to hold up their end of bargain?
- Feeling awful: A lot of work ahead to get to level of true contenders. Could be more than a couple seasons away.
The Blue Jackets are confident in where they think they’re going. This offseason showed that. Waddell called them a “special group” and wanted to give them the opportunity to stay together as much as possible. Was it the right choice? We won’t know that for months.
In the end, the Blue Jackets came into the 2025 offseason hoping to pull off some bigger moves. While they weren’t able to land the big fish, they made some smaller moves to improve and got some of their own re-signed. Some fans liked what they saw. Others not so much.
In this case, it’s perfectly okay to feel both good and nervous going into next season. The combination of legitimate hope and unanswered questions truly will make the Blue Jackets a fascinating team to watch in 2025-26.
