In the end, he finished with career highs of 22 goals and 45 points, and the reward was a two-year, $8 million contract extension he signed two weeks ago.
Success is often born from the lessons of adversity, and the hope is that the Roslovic who shined both offensively and defensively the second half of the season can keep growing as he becomes more and more a critical piece in the CBJ puzzle.
"I think my game through the last little stretch was really good," he said after signing his contract extension. "I'm happy and I'm excited for the progress I made throughout that time and be able to go into the summer with a really good idea of where things are going, the standard and the bar that I've set for myself. It's a great feeling to have."
That feeling extends to Jarmo Kekalainen, who says he could see Roslovic's game coming along as the season went on. Better yet, the general manager believes even more is in the gas tank as the 25-year-old keeps learning from the scenarios he encounters on the ice.
"I think Jack grew a lot this year," Kekalainen said. "He took some big steps on both sides of the puck. I think he has some exceptional ability with the pick -- the way he can skate, his edges, his skills, he can score, he can create off the rush with his speed. I think on the other side of the puck defensively, he definitely took some strides this year.
"I've talked to Jack about it, it's a huge responsibility to play center in the National Hockey League and be a top-six player, be a top-two center ice man that coaches trust in every situation. He's still young, so he's still growing. Physically he's a very strong guy. His skating obviously is a big strength, but I think just overall playing center, he hasn't really done that full time for long. We gotta have some patience with him as well."
Two years in, the acquisition of Roslovic along with Patrik Laine in a trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg has paid ample dividends for the Blue Jackets. While Laine had a point-per-game scoring pace this past season and posted 26 goals in 56 games, Roslovic has had the two most productive seasons of his NHL career in union blue, totaling 34 goals and 79 points in 129 games with Columbus.
As a native of the capital city, Roslovic has made clear how much it means to play for the hometown team, and he also sees a young CBJ team that is coming together with eyes on returning to being a contender in coming seasons.