Latest news and updates about the Blue Jackets
Vitals Player: Egor ChinakhovBorn: February 1, 2001 (Age 24/25 season)Height: 6’ 1”Weight: 203 poundsHometown: Omsk, RussiaShoots: LeftDraft: 2020 first round (21st overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets2025-26 Statistics: 72 games played, 21 goals, 21 assists = 42 points (w/ Penguins: 43 games played, 18 goals, 18 assists=36 points); 6 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists in playoffs.Contract Status: Just completed a two-year contract originally signed […]
“We got our team back. They found their confidence. They found their mojo. And I knew they would. We’ve said it all year and all playoffs long: When their backs are against the wall, it brings out the best in them. I guess that is a good trait to have when your team is on […] The post Artur Akhtyamov & Ryan Tverberg stay hot, Toronto Marlies force Game 5 with best effort of the series vs. Cleveland appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
The Columbus Blue Jackets general manager, Don Waddell, thought he did his best to construct a roster that would make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. But the team fell from contention at the end of the season, forfeiting seven of their last ten games (2-7-1). Head coach Rick Bowness' end-of-season criticism for his players' lack of execution reverberated throughout the media. While Charlie Coyle took the critique with humility . “I love working with Rick,” Coyle said. “Would...
Every insider in hockey has stated this summer is going to be the summer of trades, and don't be surprised to see the Columbus Blue Jackets get into the action at next month's NHL Draft in Buffalo. The Blue Jackets came on strong to finish last season after their coaching change, but unfortunately, fell a little short of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With a fresh perspective heading into the offseason, there's been plenty of reports that Columbus is a team to watch at the draft, as they're ...
“They haven’t seen our best game yet, and that’s on us as a whole group. We have spurts, and we have shifts, but we just can’t string them together right now. It comes down to us wanting it a little bit more and playing more physical.” – Logan Shaw We were on our heels for […] The post Toronto Marlies face elimination on Friday night after feeble shutout defeat to Cleveland appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
Boone Jenner is in store for a nice payday on July 1. The pending free-agent forward has changed agents this offseason and is setting himself up to meet with teams late next month, to then sign a multi-year contract on July 1st once free agency opens. All signs at the moment are indeed pointing at the long-time Blue Jacket to leave Columbus. The Athletic's Aaron Portzline who is the most in-tune reporter who follows the Blue Jackets daily has made it clear he thinks Jenner is headed elsewhere ...
It wasn't a true breakout season for the 2022 first-round pick, but there's reason to believe one could be on the way.
Charlie Coyle had options. Lots of them. Don Waddell made that clear when he announced that the Columbus Blue Jackets had signed the veteran center to a six-year, $36 million extension through the 2031-32 season. "I've had probably 10-12 calls in the last couple of weeks about what our plans were with Charlie and would we consider trading his rights," Waddell said. The answer was no every time. Newly re-signed #CBJ Charlie Coyle joined the show to talk about his team's head coach Rick ...
In yet another major hit to the free agent market this summer, the Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed one of the top remaining pending UFAs, Charlie Coyle, to a long-term deal. Breaking: The Blue Jackets have signed Charlie Coyle to a six-year, $36M contract through the 2031-32 season, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/ERTB3a73SP — ESPN (@espn) May 12, 2026 Coyle gets a six-year, $36 million contract, for a $6 million AAV, and is now a Blue Jacket through his age 40 season in 2032.&n...
Charlie Coyle had a big 2025-26 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, posting 20 goals and 58 points in 82 games. He chose a great time to have a strong campaign, as he is now entering the summer as a pending unrestricted free agent. If the Blue Jackets are unable to re-sign Coyle, expect these three teams to target him in free agency. Los Angeles Kings The Kings desperately need to add at least one center this offseason, with Anze Kopitar retiring. With Coyle being the top center...
There's some roster changes coming for the Columbus Blue Jackets. After Rick Bowness took over behind the bench and went on a magical run, the Blue Jackets fell short of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Bowness wasn't shy to speak out about the culture of the team, and called out the entire roster at his end-of-season media availability, that they've become to accept losing. GM Don Waddell is going to make significant changes to their roster and the summer of trades is expected across the league. Wad...
Despite a regular season that saw him lead all defencemen in scoring by 14 points, Evan Bouchard’s tremendous 2025-26 season won’t earn him a Norris Trophy. The Edmonton Oilers defenceman was not named among the three finalists named for the award Thursday morning. Instead, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar, Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski,…
Everyone watched as the Columbus Blue Jackets collapsed down the stretch to fall out of a potential playoff berth. And certainly, everyone saw what head coach Rick Bowness thought of it, in one of the most epic coaching rants in recent memory . The head coach (who has since been re-signed to return next year) later explained that he wanted his troops to " spend the summer being uncomfortable." This latest suggestion from Columbus beat writer Aaron Portzline in The Athletic should a...
The Columbus Blue Jackets are not standing pat this summer. GM Don Waddell has made clear through multiple conversations with media and insiders that the organization's first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is available if the right deal presents itself. The Blue Jackets are open to trading their first-round selection, which is projected at No. 14 overall heading into the May 5 lottery. The willingness to move that pick is not new information exactly, as Waddell told Mark Scheig of The ...
Erik Gudbranson is among the most notable pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) on the Columbus Blue Jackets. If the Blue Jackets end up not re-signing him, he should be a pretty popular target as a free agent on July 1. Due to this, let's look at three teams that could sign Gudbranson this summer if he ends up hitting the market. Florida Panthers Could the Panthers reunite with Gudbranson? When looking at their roster, it is clear that they could use more experienced depth...
Selected 3rd overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets have found a piece to build their future around in Adam Fantilli . This season, he's played 82 regular-season games for the Blue Jackets, scoring 59 points (24-35) as the team's top-line center. Fantilli's development has ticked upward every year since he arrived in Columbus, proving that the choice of Fantilli was right. During the 2024-25 season, he scored 57 points, and in 2023-24 scored 27 points. ...
The Columbus Blue Jackets have some notable free agents on the docket this offseason, and it sounds like they want to bring most of them back. From captain Boone Jenner to newcomers this season in Charlie Coyle and Mason Marchment, to defenseman Erik Gudbranson, they'll have some decisions to make. But according to insider Elliotte Friedman, speaking on NHL Morning Skate on NHL Network Radio on SiriusXM, he projects the Jackets will likely lose at least one of those UFAs—whether th...
The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forward Egor Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the end of December. The Blue Jackets let Chinakhov languish in the bottom-six, and at times was a healthy scratch. The 21st overall selection in 2020 has skyrocketed in production after being placed under the leadership of head coach Dan Muse. In the last 43 games of his career, he's scored 36 points (18-18), being given the responsibility as a top-nine forward in the Penguins' lineup. A s...
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness went viral last week for his now-infamous rant in which he tore his team to shreds for their performance down the stretch. But after re-upping for another go-round with the Jackets , he will be back. Bowness appeared on The Fan Hockey Show on Tuesday to discuss not only his return behind the bench in Columbus, but yes, also to reveal what went into his Rant — and to essentially double-down on it. For some players , anyway. There's nothing wro...
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on April 16 that head coach Rick Bowness has signed a one-year contract extension, returning for the 2026-27 season. That is a significant item crossed off GM Don Waddell's list, and it clears the way for him to focus on what is shaping up to be one of the more complicated offseasons in recent franchise history. Bowness did not go quietly into the summer. After a season-ending 2-1 loss to Washington that knocked Columbus out of playoff contention for the...
The Toronto Maple Leafs were looking to make a move but the Columbus Blue Jackets weren't interested. Reports have surfaced stating the Maple Leafs were looking to trade Nick Robertson heading into this season and reached out to the Blue Jackets for Yegor Chinakhov, but Columbus wasn't sold that Robertson was the move. Siegel/Johnston/Mirtle: At one point, the Leafs discussed a Nick Robertson for Egor Chinakhov swap with the Blue Jackets, but their offers fell short - The Athletic (4/15) The B...
Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning… In an alternate universe, Egor Chinakhov might be wearing blue and white and playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs reportedly tried to trade for Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets, including discussions around a swap involving Nick Robertson. They couldn’t finalize a deal before […]
The NHL released its 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule today with the Edmonton Oilers’ playoff position up in the air ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. Teams in the top three seeds of each division have received the start date of their first-round playoff schedule Thursday. However, the Pacific Division still remains almost…
It was one of the all-time epic coaching rants. In an exceptionally emotional postgame news conference after the Columbus Blue Jackets' season finale, Rick Bowness absolutely tore into his players . Now, he will be rewarded for his honesty and emotion, as the Blue Jackets have confirmed that the head coach will be re-signed to a new deal. Rick Bowness and Don Waddell are meeting the media at 2ET Expect am extension announcement for Bowness He will return as head coach of the Blue Jackets...
Everyone in Washington, and around the hockey world, wants to know if Alex Ovechkin played his final NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Capitals' season finale Tuesday night. He was asked the question on Thursday morning. And his answer, while not the exact response we've all been hoping for, certainly dropped a strong hint: “I’m pretty sure it’s not my last game. I hope it’s not my last game, against Columbus.”—Alex Ovechkin in his final media availability of the 2025-26 season...