Are the Blue Jackets in a Rebuild or a Rerun?

For the past six seasons, the Columbus Blue Jackets have struggled to get out of their own way and to finish the season in the playoffs. It has raised many questions amongst the fan base if they need to fully tank in order to join the elite of the league with premier talent.

If you look around at other teams in the league that have recently gone through a rebuild, you can visibly tell they have gone through it and have come out the other side stronger and better positioned to win both now and for the next ten years as well.

For comparison’s sake, the Blue Jackets haven’t picked higher than the third overall pick, which they have done twice since 2016, over the past 14 years. They picked second overall in 2012, drafting Ryan Murray. The only other time they have picked higher than that was 2002, when they drafted Rick Nash first overall.

A couple of teams have massively expedited their rebuild by finding premier talent and quickly jumping back into contention as what would be considered a Cup contender in the next few years, and for years to come.

How Has Columbus Missed?

What the Blue Jackets have failed to do or do correctly that every other team has shown is their inability to fight for contention. It makes you wonder if, because the Blue Jackets have never been a team fully committed to a rebuild, they have tried season after season to make it work with a team that has been a fringe playoff team every season.

At some point, they will need to be able to fall on the sword and understand that they need to fully tear it down before trying to build it back up. Other teams that have changed their fortune recently through premier picks are the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, and Buffalo Sabres. It makes you wonder where the Blue Jackets might be right now if they fully committed to a rebuild.

4 years ago, we finished dead-last in the NHL

Today, we are headed to the Final 4, after beating two other top-5 teams, all while being the second youngest team in the entire league.

This is the BEGINNING of the #GoHabsGo era. We’re nowhere near our prime.

— The Habitant (@the_habitant) May 19, 2026

So does this mean the Blue Jackets need to just sell off all their talent and try to lose? No, not at all; however, they have to be okay with knowing they are entering a season not in contention, and the fans have to be able to understand that not being good for a few years is much better than being stuck in the middle of the pack and having no direction either up or down.

The Blue Jackets have a good young core, but the unfortunate part is that the talent surrounding that young core is not young, and they also aren’t cheap. If the Blue Jackets can find a way to switch up this roster or trade for a big star, then a massive shift is not needed.

However, being a team that has never made it further than the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and with only one first-overall pick in their 25-year history, doesn’t bode well for their ability to compete with the best of the best.

What Could Flip the Script?

With the lack of success for the Blue Jackets both on the ice and in the draft lottery, there are a few things they can do to manually insert themselves back into a spot of serious contention. A trade is on the table for a team like Columbus, which doesn’t really need the 14th overall pick again this year, and would rather package that and take a shot at a star.

Could an offer sheet make sense for the Blue Jackets? They could take a chance at a restricted free agent who may be stuck in a salary cap nightmare with their current team, and match up to $4.775 million per year without suffering a first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. The Blue Jackets just signed one of their most important pieces in Charlie Coyle to a six-year $6 million average annual value deal.

Up to $4.775 million won’t cost anyone a first-round pick. https://t.co/DQdDHuuDwi

— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) May 19, 2026

Could the Blue Jackets try to swing their way up the 2026 NHL Draft board as well? That is another option, a draft day trade to jump up the board, which is something this organization has done before, jumping up to first-overall to draft Rick Nash in 2002.

Would a trade-up make sense for the Blue Jackets this season, however? They have been a team looking to make a splash ever since Don Waddell took over as the general manager in May 2024. Could this be the year?

He has his coach settled in coming off the back of an extension signed by Rick Bowness, but now, how does he get his team ready to change the fortune of the past six seasons?

How Close Are They?

Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, they are not nearly as close as they may think or as fans may think, either. They struggle to consistently score goals, and defensively, they struggle to keep the opposing team out of the slot and opportunities to a minimum.

Outside of Jet Greaves, they do not have a consistent number two to help in the crease, and unfortunately, outside of a top line that can produce, the team is full of overpriced forwards who have struggled to score for their worth. They have to find a way to retool their forward group and add more young talent.

The coaching staff will be rebuilt under Bowness, and who he chooses to be captain of the team if Boone Jenner does leave this offseason will be his first defining move. How he and Waddell handle the prospects they have in the system as a retool of talent can also be a massive decision maker for the Blue Jackets.

How they attack the offseason can completely change the outlook of this franchise moving forward. From a team struggling to find their way, looking for direction, and looking for their stars to build around moving forward, they need a defining offseason to change the culture and franchise outlook.

Maybe a real rebuild is what this team is missing, or will they continue to rerun the same misfortune this franchise has been going through for the past 25 years? They have to change something; they cannot be content with not being a contender.