Sports and Syntax

years of turnover, uncertainty, and mixed messaging have blurred one of the nhl’s most promising rebuilds. what’s next for the columbus blue jackets?

by Bridget Lombardo

_{^{Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch}}

If you asked ten people what the Columbus Blue Jackets are supposed to be, you’d probably get ten different answers.

A rebuilding team? A playoff hopeful? A young core in progress? A roster in transition?

That’s the problem. Columbus has talent, but it doesn’t have clarity. After years of coaching changes, front-office turnover, and conflicting visions, the Blue Jackets find themselves caught somewhere between a long-term rebuild and a short-term sprint toward relevance – a place no team wants to live for too long.

There was a time when the Blue Jackets had an identity: gritty, structured, and relentless. Under John Tortorella, they were the team that outworked you, blocked every shot, and made opponents uncomfortable.

The system wasn’t built on flash – it was built on buy-in. It didn’t always win pretty, but it won honestly. In the 2016-2017 season, that commitment produced one of the most memorable stretches in franchise history – a 16 game win streak, the second-longest in NHL history at the time. For a team that had spent years on the league’s margins, it was proof that belief and structure could build legitmacy.

Additionally, in 2017, Tortorella’s approach earned him the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year, recognizing how he turned Columbus from an underachieving roster into one of the league’s toughest, most disciplined groups. For the first time in franchise history, the Blue Jackets had a clear identity, and the league took notice.

Since then, that blueprint has been torn up and redrawn too many times to count. With new coaches and executives arriving every couple of years, the message has shifted from “defend hard” to “develop the kids” to “play fast”.

None of it has stuck long enough to create an actual identity.

The frustrating part? The pieces are there. Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov, and Denton Mateychuk represent legitimate promise. Kirill Marchenko and Sean Monahan – when healthy and engaged – give Columbus offensive firepower most rebuilding teams can only dream of.

But these players are developing in a revolving-door environment. Coaching philosophies change before habits can form, and systems shift before chemistry can build. Young players thrive on stability, and Columbus hasn’t provided that.

David Jiříček’s trade to Minnesota symbolized just how much uncertainty has defined this organization in recent years – promising pieces moved before they can fully develop. A skilled scorer who never truly found his fit in Columbus’ evolving system, Patrik Laine’s departure told a similar story. The Blue Jackets traded him to Montreal for defenseman Jordan Harris. After one season, Harris did not receive a qualifying offer from Columbus, and was signed by the Boston Bruins as an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

And then there’s Johnny Gaudreau. His passing in August 2024 shocked not just the Blue Jackets, but the hockey world as a whole. Beyond his tremendous on-ice skill, Gaudreau embodied the kind of leadership and compassion every young locker room needs. His absence is felt in more ways than statistics can ever show. It’s a reminder of how human hockey is, and how fragile the balance of identity can be for a team already searching for itself.

From an analytics standpoint, Columbus is confusing. Their expected goals (xGF%) and possession metrics consistently show flashes of offensive potential. These positives, however, are offset by defensive breakdowns, rushed decisions, and inconsistent effort.

It’s as if the numbers and the eye test are having two different conversations. You can see what the team wants to be – fast, creative, and dynamic – but the execution doesn’t match the intention.

This isn’t just about skill or structure. It’s about identity. The best teams in the league have one thing in common – you know exactly who they are. Columbus, right now, still feels like it’s experimenting with the answer.

Boone Jenner wears the “C” with quiet consistency, and there’s no questioning his effort. But leadership extends beyond hard work. It’s about direction and unity, two things that have been hard to maintain through years of turbulence.

The young players look to veterans for guidance, which is impossible when the veterans are still trying to understand where the team is headed. Without a stable voice behind the bench or in the front office, leadership feels like a shared burden rather than a shared vision.

If anything, Jenner and players like Zach Werenski – a 2025 Norris Memorial Trophy finalist – have carried the emotional weight of the franchise. That kind of leadership, however, only goes so far when everything around it keeps changing.

At some point, the Blue Jackets will have to decide who they want to be. If this is truly a rebuild, then lean into it. Give Fantilli, Johnson, Voronkov, and Mateychuk the keys and let them drive. If the goal is to compete now, then make the structural and personnel changes to support that push.

Until Columbus commits to a clear vision, they’ll keep existing in the in-between. Not bad enough to bottom out, but not good enough to break through. Right now, the Blue Jackets are a roster full of talent simply waiting for alignment. Until both the players and organization find clarity, however, Columbus will remain a team with potential, but not yet purpose.