The Columbus Blue Jackets came oh so close to the playoffs in 2024-25. Several of their key players had great seasons that allowed them to be in position to stay in the race all season.
But as with any team that falls short, changes and tweaks need to be made in an effort to improve. For these Blue Jackets, one area of focus for them is being an improved forechecking team.
The desire to improve on the forecheck makes perfect sense. Which team has been at the top of the mountain in the NHL? The Florida Panthers. What are they really good at? Their forecheck is as aggressive and nasty as it comes.
Other teams like the Carolina Hurricanes have seen success thanks to their relentless forecheck. Teams that are able to consistently pressure the other team into mistakes tend to win more often than they lose.
The Blue Jackets are not only trying to be better in the area of forechecking, this element is a regular part of their meetings as they’ve gone through training camp and the preseason.
Tweaking the Forecheck
Take Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Capitals. The Blue Jackets didn’t manage the puck well at times. It came back to bite them in the end. They fell by a score of 4-3.
Not only was puck management an issue, so was their forecheck. Head coach Dean Evason admitted that he wanted to see his team be more aggressive on the forecheck. On Thursday morning, they watched video showing that aspect.
“We want to be the team that pushes the pace, forechecks, neutral-zone checking, just being aggressive, turning pucks over so that we can use our skill set to translate it to offense,” Evason said. “So we need to do more of it.”
You May Also Like
- Blue Jackets Focused on Being Improved Forechecking Team in 2025-26
- Every NHL Team’s Longest-Tenured Player
- 3 Takeaways From the Blue Jackets’ 4-3 Loss to the Capitals
- Blue Jackets’ Comeback Falls Short in Preseason Loss to Capitals
- 10 NHL Teams Without a Stanley Cup
The Blue Jackets did bring in some new personnel that should help see improved results on the forecheck. Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood and Isac Lundestrom give the team a different look in their bottom-six. Evason believes each of them have the forechecking aspect in their game.
“Did we bring people in that have that in their game? Yeah (Coyle, Wood) in particular for sure. But we can do a better job as a team being more aggressive in our forecheck and certainly through our neutral zone check.”
Evason has mentioned throughout camp that the Blue Jackets will make some tweaks to their systems. He admitted that they discussed one tweak in particular that was an issue last season that they hope will make a difference in performance this season.
“To be honest, when we talked to them this morning, we put in a thought process or a little tweak as far as the back-to-back games,” Evason said. “We talked about this a long time ago of being maybe not going as hard with two. So maybe they’ve taken that as pulling back a little but too much. But the other night when we’re fresh, when we’re ready to go, we want to get up. We want to go with two and have all five guys involved in our forecheck. So we’ll continue to push them to do that.”
Player’s Perspective
Wood has played on a few teams now in which he’s seen an effective forecheck in action. He says having a good forecheck will translate to success.
“It wears down their D,” Wood said. “It puts pressure on their team. You can turn the puck over and do a quick strike and try to score a goal that way. The forecheck is very important. Probably spend about half the game on the forecheck.”
Mathieu Olivier says the key to an effective forecheck among other things is that everyone has to be on the same page.
“A good forecheck. Everyone has to be in sync,” Olivier said. “The system’s the system, right? Any good system, they’re all good in their own way. But if you have people that are executing it to a T that can make reads when the time is right, you need everyone on the same page. That’s a non-negotiable.”
“Another thing I noticed too is the early guys that get in on the forecheck, they do their job. Most teams, they got good players. They’re going to make a play regardless. So the quick reload back and supporting whoever’s job’s up next, that makes a big difference. So I’d say everyone in sync know when they’re doing their job like that Bill Belichick saying ‘You have to be 100% sure of your job. You got to do it to a T.’ And then guys once their job is done to reload hard, two, three quick strides just to get back in position and then re-attack, that makes for a lot of pressure on teams.”
While Olivier admitted there may be some tweaks to the system and how they approach their forecheck, they know what their roles are. There’s no gray area. That’s the part he likes the most in the Blue Jackets’ approach.
“Overall, our systems and our forecheck are pretty black and white,” Olivier said. “That’s what you want out of a system. When there’s too much gray, it’s just so confusing for players. They’re caught thinking instead of doing and that’s no good. That’s not an effective forecheck. When it’s very black and white like our system, it’s easy to just go and do it.”
Forecheck Key to Success
The Blue Jackets have made a more effective forecheck a priority. They’re talking about it in meetings and making slight adjustments to it.
Recall the issues the Blue Jackets had in the second night of back-to-back games last season. Every thing they can do to ensure they have a little more energy in those situations could be the difference in achieving a couple more wins. Had they had a couple more wins last season, they’re a playoff team.
As this new season begins, watch the Blue Jackets’ forecheck. Watch it in particular on back-to-back situations. They know how important an effective forecheck is. They’re talking about it now in meetings.
If the Blue Jackets can smother teams with their forecheck, they have the skill needed to be effective in transition and in finishing. With the new players up front, the team believes they have four lines who can forecheck.
That could turn out to be the formula for the Blue Jackets to return to the playoffs in 2025-26.
