The Columbus Blue Jackets have gotten off to a good start in the 2024-25 season. Their 5-3-1 record through their first nine games may not seem overly impressive on paper, but there’s a lot to like from this team early on. It’s put them on a path to actually playing some meaningful games late in the season.
The last several seasons have been lean for the franchise, which is looking for its first playoff berth since the 2020 Playoffs that took place in the COVID bubble. While playoffs certainly remain the goal for this team, it’s certainly not something that anyone projected for them coming into the new campaign. The Blue Jackets have been riddled with tragedy, injuries, coaching changes, and trade speculation over the last several seasons. For the team, a quiet season and finishing in the middle of the pack would be a massive step forward. They’ve set themselves up for progress on that path with the start they’ve had.
Blue Jackets’ Goal Metrics in Good Shape
Through eight games, the Blue Jackets have been significantly improving in their goal metrics. The simple counting stats have been in the organization’s favor, sitting 11th most in goals for and tied for seventh least in goals against in the league. They’ve also been getting contributions from throughout their lineup with 13 different goal scorers, 12 of those having scored multiple goals thus far. Depth is what will make a difference for this team moving forwards and that’s who they’ve had stepping up to this point.
Looking through the lineup, the Blue Jackets have been getting key goals and contributions from players like Mathieu Olivier, Zach Aston-Reece, and James van Riemsdyk. Olivier is currently tied for second in team goal-scoring with four. And watching his performance against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 28, he could have easily potted one or two more with solid chances. He’s one goal off his career high, which he hit in 54 games last season.
The Blue Jackets have also been helped by a return to form from netminder Elvis Merzlikins. Shocking that once the team’s defense begins to improve so do his numbers. It’s almost like he’d been shelled behind one of the worst defenses in the NHL over the last few years and his numbers were heavily reliant on the players in front of him. Weird how that works. He can thank new head coach Dean Evason for his work on restructuring the team’s play.
Blue Jackets’ Next Core Is Stepping Up Too
The key thing for the team when you look at their production early on is that their young players who’ve needed to take a step forward, have. Kirill Marchenko leading the way with over a point per game at this point is huge. Yegor Chinakhov getting off to the hot start that he did was massive. Cole Sillinger looks way more confident and has been a reliable piece to start the season. The same went for Kent Johnson before his injury.
Related: Is the Blue Jackets’ Early Season Success Sustainable?
A key factor in this evolution from those players has been the clearing of the roster logjam by general manager (GM) Don Waddell. After taking the job in June, he started by not re-signing many of former GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s darlings that hadn’t made their way to NHL success yet. Next were a few trades, extricating the team from Patrik Laine’s mammoth salary cap hit, and shipping Frenchman Alexandre Texier off to greener pastures in St. Louis. Those among other transactions have allowed this younger core to get comfortable and begin to take the lion’s share of responsibility.
Getting production from those players is critical because if the team progresses as hoped, those names will be the ones guiding the Blue Jackets through their next period of playoff contention. If they can continue to keep a positive goal differential and keep getting contributions from throughout their lineup they should see growth in the 2024-25 season.
