Columbus Blue Jackets 2026-27 Preview: Culture Change or Same Old Story?

Columbus finished 40-30-12 for 92 points last season, good for fifth in the Metropolitan Division and seven points outside a playoff spot. The front office made meaningful additions in Valeri Nichushkin and Ryan Lomberg, locked up Jet Greaves and Cole Sillinger, and kept Zach Werenski despite a rocky summer of trade rumours. The grade reflects real progress on paper, tempered by the fact that this team has missed the playoffs six straight years and still has an unsigned restricted free agent in Adam Fantilli.

Last season in review

The 2025-26 numbers tell a story of a team that was almost exactly league average: 253 goals for, 253 against. That kind of dead-even differential does not make the playoffs in the Metropolitan Division, one of the toughest in hockey.

Werenski won the Norris Trophy with 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games, a genuine elite season from a defenceman who carries the offence from the blue line. Kirill Marchenko posted 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists), and Fantilli added 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists). The forward group has real pieces.

The problems were structural. Columbus ranked 22nd on the power play (18.9 per cent) and 28th on the penalty kill (76.0 per cent). Special teams that bad will sink a team regardless of even-strength play. Greaves went 26-19-9 with a .908 save percentage in 55 games, a respectable number for a goalie who entered the season with 21 games of NHL experience. The collapse down the stretch, going 2-8-1 in the final 11 games, cost them the playoffs.

Ins and outs

• In: Valeri Nichushkin (acquired from Colorado Avalanche, June 25, for draft picks)
• In: Ryan Lomberg (signed two-year contract, July 1)
• In: Pheonix Copley (signed one-year contract, July 1)
• In: Jet Greaves (signed three-year, $15 million contract, July 23, following arbitration)
• In: Cole Sillinger (signed three-year, $13.875 million contract, July 25)
• In: Carson Soucy (signed to a professional tryout, September 13)
• Out: Boone Jenner (signed with Washington Capitals as an unrestricted free agent)
• Out: Mason Marchment (signed five-year, $33.75 million contract with San Jose Sharks as a UFA)

Elvis Merzlikins is out indefinitely following shoulder surgery, which leaves Copley as the likely backup to Greaves. Adam Fantilli remains unsigned as a restricted free agent. Kirill Marchenko, whose contract situation drew attention at camp, sidestepped questions about his future when reporters asked him in September. New assistant coaches Don Granato and Trent Vogelhuber join Rick Bowness' staff, with Granato tasked with the power play and Vogelhuber the penalty kill. President Mike Priest is set to retire September 30.

The big question

Can Columbus fix its special teams? Bowness said after last season that losing did not bother his players enough, and the team responded by bringing in Nichushkin and Lomberg to shift the dressing room culture. But culture will not matter if the power play and penalty kill remain near the bottom of the league. Granato and Vogelhuber were hired specifically to address those units, and their work will define whether this team takes a real step forward.

X-factor

Valeri Nichushkin. The 31-year-old had 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 72 games for Colorado last season, but he averaged only 17:44 of ice time, the lowest since 2020-21. In Columbus, he figures to get more responsibility, more power-play time, and a bigger role in the top six. He is a three-time 20-goal scorer with Cup experience. If he stays healthy and produces closer to his ceiling, the Blue Jackets' offence looks considerably more dangerous.

Bold prediction

Columbus misses the playoffs again, but Nichushkin tops 25 goals and forces the rest of the Metropolitan Division to take this group more seriously heading into 2027-28.

The outlook

The Blue Jackets open the 2026-27 season October 1 at home against Buffalo. They have the defensive anchor in Werenski, a legitimate top-six addition in Nichushkin, and a young core that includes Marchenko and Fantilli. The pieces are there for a push. Whether Bowness can get them pointed in the same direction before another season slips away is the only question that matters.

*Sources:, nhl.com, nhl.com, dailyfaceoff.com*