He started out as the center of the second line, with rookie Sonny Milano and Oliver Bjorkstrand as his primary wingers, and eventually moved up to center the top line with Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson.
Foligno's start to the season was pretty good, with eight points on three goals and five assists in the first 12 games, but things fell off quickly. He had six points (four goals, two assists) in 28 games during the next two months, with a minus-7 plus/minus rating and shooting percentage that tumbled to five percent in November (13 games).
He rebounded with seven points on two goals and five assists in January (10 games), but injuries entered the picture. Foligno missed the final four games in February, after sustaining a lower-body injury Feb. 18 in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and missed the final six games of the regular season with a second lower-body injury Mar. 24 against the St. Louis Blues.
In the playoffs, Foligno was struck in the face by the puck off a slapshot in Game 1 of the Jackets' first-round series against the Washington Capitals, and then dealt with a stinging series defeat five games later. It wasn't the way he'd envisioned the season going, but the captain went into the offseason resolute in his belief both he and the team will rebound.
Here's a closer look at Foligno's season, by the numbers, and how it impacted the Blue Jackets:
THE BREAKDOWN
15
Partly because of injuries, partly because he played center and partly because he never found consistent linemates, Foligno's goal-scoring dropped. The captain had 15 goals in 72 games, which was nine less than he scored in seven more games during the 2016-17 season. He had two goals against the Capitals in the playoffs, but none until the Jackets' 6-3 loss in Game 6 that ended the series.
2
The main reason for Foligno's goal decline was his struggle to produce on the power play, which was partially attributable to the Jackets' inconsistent special-teams units. Foligno, who averaged 2:24 of power-play time, scored just two man-advantage goals after scoring 11 power-play goals in 2016-17. He finished the season with two goals, two assists and four points on power plays.
741
The Blue Jackets' depth issues at center meant Folligno played there a lot and took a career-high 741 face-offs. He improved his play in the middle by the end of the season and was decent at the dot, winning a career-high 340 draws for a respectable 45.9 winning percentage.
1
Foligno finished with a plus-1 plus/minus rating, which was the first time he posted a mark above zero in three seasons. After finishing plus-16 in 2014-15, a career-high, Foligno was saddled with minuses the previous two seasons: minus-14 in 2015-16 and minus-4 in 2016-17.
10
After his second lower-body injury, Foligno returned for the start of the playoffs eager to help out. That included blocking shots, which he did eagerly in the playoff series. Foligno's 10 blocked shots against the Capitals led all Columbus forwards, including the one in the third period of Game 1 that struck his visor and face. Foligno was bloodied and left the ice, but only missed a few minutes.
182
One area that didn't dip was Foligno's physical play, which remains a big part of his game. While keeping his shot-attempts percentage (Corsi) above 50 percent, an indicator of good puck possession, Foligno upped his hits total. He was credited with 182, which was 25 more than he had in 2016-17 (157) and 30 more than 2015-16 (152). It's also the fourth-highest total of his NHL career (11 seasons).
