When the Columbus Blue Jackets signed UFA Isac Lundeström this offseason, it wasn’t with the expectation that he’d light up the scoreboard. Instead, General Manager Don Waddell and head coach Dean Evason view the 25-year-old Swede as a quietly effective, detail-oriented center who can anchor the bottom six, kill penalties, and tilt the ice in subtle but meaningful ways.
Lundeström arrives in Columbus after spending the length of his professional career with the Anaheim Ducks, where he established a reputation as a defensively responsible center with flashes of secondary scoring. His best NHL season came in 2021–22, when he posted 16 goals and 29 points in 80 games — production that hinted at untapped offensive upside.
Since then, injuries and shifting roles have kept his numbers modest, but his underlying metrics have remained steady: relatively substantial faceoff percentages, low defensive-zone turnover rates, and a knack for reading developing plays before they become dangerous. Simply put, he's a responsible defensive centerman coming to a team that sorely needs youth in that role.
In Evason's system, Lundeström projects to center the fourth line, likely flanked by a rotating cast of energy wingers. His responsibilities will be clear. Primarily, he'll be a defensive zone faceoff specialist: With a career 47.0% at the dot, with a 50%+ peak in shorter stints, and a heavy share of defensive-zone draws (career offensive zone draws are just 37.6%), it makes it clear where Isac will fit in primarily.
While he won't be tasked with driving offense, Columbus hopes his speed and hockey IQ will generate more high-danger looks than the team's fourth line produced last season. He's a center who thrives primarily off of breaking up chances in transition, reversing them into transition chances for his own squad.
The Jackets have been searching for a reliable, young, low-maintenance center who can handle tough minutes without bleeding goals against. Lundeström’s defensive awareness and ability to match up against middle-six competition make him an ideal fit. His style complements the more physical, forechecking-heavy approach of players like Mathieu Olivier or Miles Wood, giving Evason flexibility in how he deploys his bottom six.
Off the ice, Lundeström’s calm demeanor and professional approach should mesh well with a locker room that’s balancing a veteran leadership core with an influx of young talent, with which he blends well, but perhaps more with the latter.
One bold prediction: Isac Lundeström sets a new career high in assists, finishing with 20+ helpers while maintaining a positive plus/minus in a defensive-heavy role.
Lundeström thrives on creating chances off the rush, especially by breaking up competing team passes and funneling great breakout passes up the ice. What does Dean Evason like to do to create offense? Exactly that: making a lot of his team's offense off the rush. I find it challenging to find a situation where Lundeström doesn't thrive in Evason's system, and that is precisely why Waddell brought him in.
Lundeström isn’t here to be a headline-grabber — he’s here to make the Blue Jackets harder to play against. If he can stay healthy and continue his steady two-way play, he could quietly become one of the most valuable depth pieces in Columbus’s push for a playoff berth.