PREVIEW: Blue Jackets begin 25th season at Predators

Now, it’s the real thing.

The Blue Jackets reported to training camp more than three weeks ago with a clear goal in mind – getting ready for the season and proving to the NHL that they have what it takes to be a playoff team during the 2025-26 campaign.

There were seven preseason games and plenty of practices from reporting day until now, and the hard work has been done. Now is the time to see what the Blue Jackets are made of, and it all starts tonight in Nashville when the puck drops on the team’s 25th anniversary campaign.

“It’s the best,” defenseman Damon Severson said. “That’s what we play for. The preseason is like everybody is getting back into it and feeling their game out and trying to get back to where we need to be. Now we’re actually playing the real thing. We start on the road and get a couple days with the guys and hopefully have a good start to the season here and hopefully get back home and keep it rolling.”

READ MORE: 2025-26 CBJ season preview

The Blue Jackets turned plenty of heads a season ago when they rose from consecutive last-place finishes in the Eastern Conference to being the first team out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That simultaneously excited and disappointed them, as they knew they made major strides but believed they were a team that could have done damage in hockey’s best time of the year.

Head coach Dean Evason has been through a plethora of camps both as a player and coach, so he knows what it’s like from both sides of the equation. He has seen this team dial in what he wants it to be over the last few days of camp, and he’s ready to see what happens when the games start for real tonight.

“I think it’s excitement,” Evason said when asked what the emotions of game one are. “I’m sure everybody is optimistic going into their first game with a clean slate. Everybody starts fresh. You’re excited to see your group go out and compete. We know that the players have put the work in. We know that we’ve put the work in to get them prepared, and now it’s an opportunity to drop the puck and get after it.”

Scratches: Yegor Chinakhov, Jake Christiansen

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: None

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets begin the season with no NHL players on injured reserve, and based on practice lines, Chinakhov and Christiansen are set to be healthy scratches. Evason has not yet named a starting goaltender but noted Merzlikins and Greaves will likely each make one start on the season-opening two-game road trip.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 9, 2005: Jason Chimera makes his CBJ debut, scoring 4:31 into the game in a 3-2 win at Chicago. The forward would go on to play in 243 consecutive games with the Blue Jackets, setting a then-franchise record.

Oct. 9, 2010: Ethan Moreau scores 1:56 into overtime and the Blue Jackets complete a European swing to start the season with a 3-2 win over San Jose in Stockholm, Sweden. Columbus began the year by playing the Sharks in two overseas games at the 2010 NHL Premiere, bouncing back from a 3-2 loss in the opener Oct. 8 with the win at Ericsson Globe.

Oct. 9, 2020: A rather unique NHL draft began, as the event usually held in June was conducted virtually in early October because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Holding the 21st pick in the first round, Columbus selected Omsk (KHL) forward Yegor Chinakhov.

The Numbers Game

Boone Jenner is one goal away from 200 in his NHL career. He would become the third Blue Jacket to reach the mark with the franchise, joining Rick Nash (289) and Cam Atkinson (213). ... Columbus is 9-13-1-1 all-time in season openers and 4-6-0 all-time when that game takes place on the road. ... Columbus set a franchise record with 267 goals (3.26 per game) last year and tied a franchise record with five players scoring 20-plus goals (Kirill Marchenko, 31; Adam Fantilli 31; Kent Johnson, 24; Zach Werenski, 23; Dmitri Voronkov, 23). ... Marchenko and Fantilli were just the second pair of CBJ teammates to notch 30 goals in the same season (Jenner and Brandon Saad, 2015-16). … Monahan’s 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) are the most ever for a CBJ player in his first 54 games with the franchise. ... Charlie Coyle is four assists shy of 300 in his NHL career, while Monahan is five points from 600 in his career.

Know The Foe: Nashville Predators

Head coach: Andrew Brunette (Third season)

Team stats (2024-25): Goals per game: 2.59 (31st) | Scoring defense: 3.34 (27th) | PP: 21.9 percent (18th) | PK: 81.5 percent (7th)

The narrative: Last year was a major disappointment for the Preds, who made a big splash by adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei only to get off to a 5-10-3 start that all but ended their playoff hopes. In the end, the team’s 30-44-8 record was 30th in the entire league, leaving the team with its worst points percentage since 2001-02. They’ll be looking to begin a bounce-back season with a good start against the Blue Jackets.

Scoring leaders: The Predators are still led by Filip Forsberg, one of the game’s underrated but dangerous goal scorers, as he posted a 31-45-76 line to lead Nashville in all three major scoring categories a year ago. He has 15 goals in 28 career games vs. the Blue Jackets. Marchessault (21-35-56) and Stamkos (27-26-53) were next in scoring followed by veteran Ryan O’Reilly (21-32-53) and Roman Josi, the longtime Preds defenseman who posted a 9-29-38 line after an 85-point season in 2023-24.

In net: Juuse Saros made 58 starts a season ago, leading the NHL in losses with a 20-31-6 record while posting a 2.98 GAA and .895 save percentage.

What's new: The biggest news in Nashville is that fifth overall pick Brady Martin – one of three first-round choices by the Preds this summer – made the team out of training camp and will begin the season on the roster. The center joins several additions in the Music City, as Nashville traded for forward Erik Haula (New Jersey) and defenseman Nicolas Hague (Vegas) this summer and signed former Tampa defenseman Nick Perbix, though Hague begins the season on IR. The biggest departure was longtime Preds center Colton Sissons, who was traded to Vegas in the Hague deal. Youngsters to watch include Martin, center Fedor Svechkov and wing Joakim Kemell.

Trending: The teams split last year’s contests, with Nashville winning a 4-3 overtime final Oct. 26 in the Music City before Columbus replied with an 8-4 win at home April 1. Columbus has won just nine times in 53 visits to Nashville, a streak that includes an 0-7-2 record in the last nine visits to the Music City. The last win was a 5-2 victory March 30, 2019.

Former CBJ: Defenseman Nick Blankenburg seems to have found a home in Nashville, as he played in 60 games a season ago while posting a 4-12-16 line, while Marchessault played two games with the Blue Jackets back in 2012-13.