After a long three-month summer break, hockey is officially back. While the summer bustled with news and notes from Columbus, the 2026-27 preseason passed by us quickly, with the start of the regular season now right in front of us.
Unlike the traditional 21-day training camp and eight-game preseason from years prior, training camp and the preseason were both shortened this year to accommodate the expansion of the regular season from 82 to 84 games.
After physical and medical evaluations took place on Sept.16, the finalized 55-player training camp roster took the ice Sept. 17 for its first official practice at Nationwide Arena.
When talking about the shortened time on the ice, Head Coach Rick Bowness said his concerns lie with younger players and those on partial tryouts, as they will receive less ice time and unable to stand out against experienced veterans.
“Those guys deserve a little better look, but they're not going to get it,” Bowness said.
Ahead of the Blue Jackets’ first preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings at Nationwide Arena on Sept. 21, General Manager Don Waddell announced the release of six players, reducing the training camp roster to 49 players.
After a shootout goal by winger Conor Garland, the Blue Jackets secured a 1-0 win over the Red Wings, marking their first win of the preseason. During a postgame interview, right wing Mathieu Olivier shared his opinions about the shortened preseason.
“I'd like to play more personally,” Olivier said. “Hockey's a sport where it's really tough to replicate what kind of conditioning you're getting on the ice. I don't think there's a perfect way to replace those games.”
Following their first win, the Blue Jackets traveled to New York to take on the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Center on Sept. 22. After reducing their roster to 45 players, the Blue Jackets fell 5-1 to the Sabers, marking their first and only loss of the preseason. Goaltender Cam Talbot, who made 23 saves through the first two periods, said he is taking this game as a lesson.
“It felt pretty good, and I think it's a good test and a good learning curve for all of us to see what a team like that plays like and why they had so much success last year,” Talbot said.
The most notable absence from the preseason came from Adam Fantilli. The 21-year-old center missed all four preseason games as well as the majority of training camp during ongoing contract negotiations.
Hours before the Blue Jackets’ game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, Fantilli officially signed a six-year, $82.5 million contract extension with Columbus. During a press conference before the game, Fantilli said he was excited to be back in Columbus with his teammates.
“I’m really grateful to have this opportunity to be here in Columbus for the next six years,” Fantilli said. “Obviously, I wish I was there day one. I wasn't, but I’m here now and I'm excited to get going for the season.”
With nine more players released, the Blue Jackets headed into Thursday night's game with a 34-man roster. Scoring the first goal of the night, reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski led the Blue Jackets to a 4-0 shutout win, with additional goals from Valeri Nichushkin, Danton Heinen, and Kirill Marchenko.
After the game, Center Sean Monahan said the team is focused on competing.
“We want to be hard to play against, and I think that starts first and foremost with us competing,” Monahan said. “When you compete within that structure, it's really hard to play against. Guys know where they [have] got to be, and if something fails, we're going to have guys to back that up.”
Before their final preseason game, the Blue Jackets made several roster changes, including releasing nine players and moving three players to injured reserve, as well as placing defenseman Dante Fabbro on injured reserved who suffered an upper-body injury during the preseason game against the Red Wings.
During Saturday night’s game at Little Caesars Arena, the Blue Jackets defeated the Red Wings 4-2 to close out their preseason with goals from Charlie Coyle, Nichushkin, Jack Williams and Cole Sillinger. Goaltender Jet Greaves said he is ready for the start of the season.
“The guys are feeling good together,” Greaves said. “It was a good way to finish it, but we're excited to get the season going.”
With the end of the preseason, the Blue Jackets prepare for their season opener against the Buffalo Sabers tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Nationwide Arena.
