In a very similar fashion to the deal that brought Valeri Nichushkin to Columbus from Colorado just a few short months ago, the Blue Jackets took an offseason swing in June of last year when they sent Gavin Brindley and a pair of picks to the Avalanche for Charlie Coyle, along with Miles Wood. His first season in the Union Blue could be summed up in one word: Stability.
Coyle, a 6'3" 220lb swiss-army knife center, found his role quickly upon arriving in Columbus. In classic Blue Jacket fashion, he's a player that found ways to be effective from any spot in the lineup. He spent most of the year alternating between second and third line center duty,
His consistency was admirable, playing all 82 games and averaging 18:06 of time on ice per game. The highest mark of his 14-season career! The coaches counted on him to be a dependable presence in the middle six night in and night out. A do-it-all forward who farms high danger chances and still plays the game at a pace higher than you'd expect a veteran like him to do.
He didn't let all that ice time go to waste either. While 34 is typically considered as "tail end of prime" age, Coyle had something of a career renaissance in 2025-26. He managed to finish the year 4th in team scoring with 20 goals, and 38 assists (tying his career high), for 58 points. Production wise, it was the second-best season of his career offensively.
Waddell and the front office rewarded him for his hard work with a lengthy $6x6 extension, including a full no-move clause for the first four seasons. The implications of locking him down until he's 40 is a conversation for another day. For now, all parties should be very happy with how the deal turned out, especially with how pricy some contracts got by the end of this summer.
The other significant aspect of extending Coyle long term comes into play when you consider the Jackets let captain Boone Jenner walk to free agency this offseason. While he will be missed by the fans, the subtraction of Jenner frees up a spot in the log jam the Jackets had at center. With Adam Fantilli taking the first line role (pending his extension), it should create some healthy competition between Coyle and Sean Monahan to round out the top six as the second line center.
No matter the where he ends up in the opening night roster, Coyle found chemistry with most people he played with last year. If the Charlie Coyle we saw last year can continue to rise to the challenges in front of him, the Jackets will have a dependable vet on their power play, penalty kill, and any other unit they decide to deploy him on. If I could make any prediction about his season, it would be that he has an A on his jersey by the end of it.
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