Blue Jackets 2022-23 season preview

For the first time, I'm trying to put everything you need to know about the Blue Jackets' upcoming season in one place. Before the season opener Wednesday at Carolina and the home opener Friday vs. Tampa Bay, check out our season preview; scroll down for what's new, what's old, stats to know, breakout candidates and keys to a successful CBJ campaign.
To date, the most successful era of Blue Jackets hockey took place from 2017-20, with Columbus making the Stanley Cup Playoffs four straight times and making franchise history in 2019 with a stunning sweep of Tampa Bay.
In a four-month span of 2021, though, the core pieces of that memorable time in CBJ hockey went out the door. In April, captain Nick Foligno and defenseman David Savard were traded for first-round picks. Then at July's NHL draft, defenseman Seth Jones and winger Cam Atkinson were traded in separate deals to Chicago and Philadelphia.

In those four moves alone, 35 seasons of Blue Jackets hockey experience were moved, not to mention three of the top four players in games played and three of the top 10 players in points in team history. Add in the departure of the winningest head coach in team history in John Tortorella, and things looked very different going into the 2021-22 season.
Once the dust settled, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen termed it a "reset," not a "rebuild," and there was a reason. A rebuild implied the Blue Jackets would be stripping things down to the studs and thus be years from contention, while a reset meant a return to winning was expected sooner rather than later.
Just 15 months after the last of those major trades was made, Kekalainen looks like he had a point. The CBJ GM has retooled the prospect pool into one of the best in the game, hired a head coach in Brad Larsen who had a promising debut season, watched the Blue Jackets perform well past expectations a season ago -- and then shocked the hockey world when he landed the biggest free agent available this summer with the signing of Johnny Gaudreau.
The reset is far from over -- one could even argue the hardest work is yet to begin -- but there's a reason for bright optimism heading into the 2022-23 season, which begins Wednesday night in Carolina.
"I know Jarmo," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "He's good at what he does. He makes the right moves for this team. I don't think anyone could see Johnny coming. That's one of those things, until it happens, that you're never quite sure about.
"With (Kekalainen's) moves and trades and draft picks, he's always done a good job of that. So when I signed (an extension last summer), I was told it wouldn't be long, and it hasn't been. It's one of those things, we haven't done anything, but I really like the way our team is built and the direction we're headed in."
The reasons for optimism are many, but it starts with the fact last year's 37-38-7 record and never-say-die attitude was impressive for a team that entered the year with the youngest roster in the NHL. The addition of Gaudreau, a six-time All-Star and one of the best offensive players in the game the past half decade, gives the team a star-level player who makes those around him better.
Bringing in Gaudreau's Calgary teammate, defenseman Erik Gudbranson, and scrappy winger Mathieu Olivier also should help defensively and add some sandpaper to a team that at times felt it needed it a season ago. And such young talents as Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko and David Jiricek, just to name a few, look like future core pieces who have shown bright promise in their short times with Columbus.
The Blue Jackets still will be among the youngest teams in the league in 2022-23, though, and while the expectation is to return to postseason play, the process will include attacking each day with a purpose.
"Our group is still very young, so the emphasis has to be in the process of getting better instead of listening to too much of the external expectations," Kekalainen said. "We expect to make the playoffs every year. That's a goal we always have. We've seen many years, after you do that, anything is possible.
"I think we have a demanding coach. We have a good coaching staff. The expectations for those players coming from the coaching staff and management is very clear that we come here every day and we expect to get better. If we can concentrate on that and put all of our energy and focus in that, the results will come."
No matter what happens in the short term, the future appears bright to say the least. The above trades added a pair of NHL players in Adam Boqvist as well Jake Bean, and contributed to the haul of five first-round picks the last two years. Three (Sillinger, Johnson and Jiricek) remain in camp until the very end are potentially set to play roles for the squad this year.
"We've gotten some unreal players in the last couple of drafts," Patrik Laine said. "So it makes it easier, and obviously management and ownership made some great moves this past summer. I think everybody is just excited to get the season going and I feel like we're really going to be a good team this year and making a real push for the playoffs. That's what we're here to do."
The reset continues, but the fruits of the labor are starting to become clear. President of hockey operations John Davidson said the biggest key remaining is to help bring along those promising young players, but one can see a path for the Blue Jackets to not just be exciting in the short term but tremendously successful for years to come.
Many of the pieces are in place, and big things are in the offing. But the Blue Jackets know the proof will be in the way they build a winning culture starting when they hit the ice for the 2022-23 season.
"I just think we have to embrace the process a bit," captain Boone Jenner said. "We can't look at where we want to get to, we have to realize how much work and how much we have to put into it. It starts in the summer, but everyone is back now. ... Everyone has to buy in right away. The quicker that happens, the quicker you can grow a group and enjoy that process of pushing each other and making us a better team."

What's New For 2022

Well, we mentioned Gaudreau, and that's as good a place to start as any. He comes to Columbus after growing into one of the NHL's top offensive players in Calgary, posting 609 points in 602 career games with the Flames. A year ago, his career-best 40-75-115 line tied him for second in the NHL in scoring, and that's even before we mention his plus-64 rating. One of the most dynamic players in the NHL thanks to his vision, creativity and skating ability, Gaudreau gives the Blue Jackets a top-of-the-line offensive player to build around for years to come.
Gaudreau wasn't the only addition who spent last year with Calgary, though, as before signing Johnny Hockey, Columbus inked Gudbranson to a four-year contract to help shore up the blue line. With 11 NHL seasons under his belt, Gudbranson will be counted on to play a tough defensive game, stand up for teammates and help clear the crease of opposing players. He also will join with winger Olivier, added in a trade from Nashville, to add a level of toughness the Blue Jackets were looking for.
There are also the youngsters who have been brought in, a list that includes Johnson, Marchenko and Jiricek. Johnson and Jiricek are the team's top two prospects, having been taken fifth and sixth overall, respectively, in the last two drafts, and they both could see action this year to tap into their loads of promise. Marchenko, meanwhile, was sent to Cleveland late in camp, but the 2018 second-round pick has been a consistent goal scorer in the KHL the past few years and will likely get a look at some point.
As for what's gone, the Blue Jackets have said goodbye to the team's leading goal scorer a year ago, as Oliver Bjorkstrand (28 tallies) was dealt to Seattle for draft picks in a move that was required to get Columbus under the salary cap after the Gaudreau signing.
Other players to see time with Columbus but no longer on the squad are Max Domi (traded late last year; now in Chicago), Alexandre Texier (under contract but spending the season in Europe), Dean Kukan (returned to Europe), Gregory Hofmann (returned to Europe), Gabriel Carlsson (Washington), Jean-Francois Berube (Florida), Scott Harrington (San Jose) and Kevin Stenlund (Winnipeg).

What's Coming Back

Twelve of the team's top 14 point scorers from a season ago return, including 10 of the 12 players to notch at least 10 goals (which tied a franchise record for double-digit scorers).
There will be plenty of familiar faces, starting with Laine, who just posted the first point-per-game season in his NHL career with a 26-30-56 line in 56 games. One of the game's best snipers already has a 44-goal season under his belt in 2017-18 and might have his sights set even higher this year after an impressive postseason and burgeoning chemistry with Gaudreau.
The captain, Jenner, is expected to begin the season between the two after his first 20-goal campaign (23 tallies) since 2015-16, and he should provide the usual leadership and effort he's become known for in addition to his ability to play in all situations. Columbus' own Jack Roslovic is an offensively gifted center coming off a career-best 22-goal season and will anchor the middle on a line between play-making veteran Jakub Voracek and do-it-all winger Gus Nyquist.
There's plenty of depth from there, too, and it will be interesting to see how the Blue Jackets deploy the bottom six. After an impressive 16-15-31 campaign as the youngest player in the NHL a year ago, Sillinger could be due for a big jump offensively while starting as the third-line center, while the Blue Jackets have three other returning forwards who reached double digits in goals in Sean Kuraly (14), Eric Robinsin (10) and Justin Danforth (10). 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov also could be primed for a breakout after leading the NHL with six preseason goals.
Defensively, Werenski will lead the way after saying he learned a lot in his first season as the No. 1 defenseman. He's coming off a campaign in which he played a career-high 25:40 per game, third in team history and sixth in the league, while posting a career-high 48 points (11-37) in 68 games.
Vladislav Gavrikov is now in his fourth full season in Columbus and should again be a defensive stalwart on the left side, while young blueliners Boqvist, Bean, Andrew Peeke and Nick Blankenburg all posted career highs in games and will be looking to take the next steps in their careers.
And in net, the faces will be familiar once again, with Elvis Merzlikins entrenched as the starter after 59 appearances a year ago. Highly touted youngster Daniil Tarasov will back him up to start the year, while Joonas Korpisalo continues to rehab from hip surgery and is on injured reserve.

Stats To Know

• Columbus is coming off a season in which it set records for goals scored (262) and allowed (300).
• Stay until the end -- last year, two of the eight game-winning goals in the final minute of regulation in franchise history and three of the 21 game-tying goals in the final minute in franchise history occurred. That's five times the Blue Jackets made magic happen in the late going, one reason...
• Columbus had 23 comeback wins a season ago, a franchise record.
• Jenner has played 589 career games, putting him on pace to become just the third player in franchise history to play 600 games (Rick Nash, Atkinson). He is also set to become just the fourth player in franchise history to play in at least 10 different seasons (Atkinson, Savard, Rostislav Klesla).
• When he first steps on the ice, Korpisalo will break a tie with Sergei Bobrovsky and become the first-ever CBJ goaltender to appear in eight different seasons.
• Coming off a 56-assist season that placed him second all-time in team history, Voracek is four points from becoming the 12th player to notch 200 points with the squad (45-151-196).

3 Notable Storylines

How do the young players develop? The Blue Jackets had 10 players make their NHL debuts a season ago, and while that likely won't happen again given all the returning players, the development of key young pieces will be a focus. While wins and losses will be the main focus, the Blue Jackets will aim to bring along such youngsters as Chinakhov, Johnson, Marchenko and Jiricek.
Can Columbus handle the start? Things won't be easy right off the bat for the Blue Jackets, as nine of the first 12 games will be played against teams that made the playoffs a year ago. Six of those games will be against teams that won playoff rounds, and two will be against the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in Finland. Columbus will test itself against the best to begin the year, and the Jackets can't get too far off the pace given how hard it is to move up as the year goes on.
Is the defense better? If the Blue Jackets intend to be a playoff team, they simply will have to keep the puck out of their net. Larsen calls it being in the green, not the red, in goal differential, and he sees it as the key to being a contender. A young defense has another year of maturation under its belt, and the hope is some schematic tweaks will help, but this has to improve from a year ago.

3 Breakout Candidates

Chinakhov:There are a lot of options here, as we detailed above, but Chinakhov has the advantage of having spent all of last year in the NHL. He had a 7-7-14 line in 62 games and was minus-27, but the 21-year-old has adjusted more to the pace of the game and looks like a different player so far in camp and the preseason.
Boqvist:The 22-year-old Swede already is coming off an excellent offensive season, posting 11 goals last year in 52 games. The scoring talent is clear, and he might just get a chance to play big minutes on the top pair with Werenski this season given his improved conditioning and offseason gains.
Tarasov: The 23-year-old was impressive in a four-game cameo last season before hip surgery ended his season, posting a .937 save percentage. A massive, talented netminder who takes up plenty of space in net, he could run with an opportunity if it comes along.

3 Important Players

Roslovic: The local product had just 12 goals in his first 71 games last year, then went on a tear, posting a 10-3-13 line in his last 10 games while skating on the top line. Larsen has said that type of play has to be the standard going forward for the 25-year-old.
Gudbranson:After a rock-solid season a year ago, he was brought in to be a big piece of the blue line with a four-year contract. In the eyes of the front office, the 11-year veteran is just what this team needed on a young blue line thanks to his size, toughness and leadership.
Merzlikins: Everything is in front of the Latvian, who is going into his fourth year in the NHL. Coming off his first campaign as the full-time starter, Merzlikins finished strong last year, had a great summer and an equally good camp. If the talented netminder has the season many expect, it will be hard to keep the Blue Jackets out of the playoffs.