The Blue Jackets are officially past the halfway point of the season. They have performed above and beyond expectations this season and currently hold the final wildcard spot. While the team has played well, the first half of the season has shown some of the deficiencies that general manager Don Waddell will need to address going into the 2025-26 season.
Assuming all the players who will be unrestricted free agents (UFAs) will not be re-signed, here is the analysis of each line within the forward group:
The top line appears to be in good form, with Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, and Dmitri Voronkov playing some solid hockey this season.
The second line has been okay but could use some improvements. It would be ideal if the team could acquire a scoring winger to anchor that second line. That would allow some of the players who have been on the second line (Cole Sillinger) to move down the lineup, which would be more ideal for them. If a scoring winger could be acquired, that would result in a second line of Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli; and the newly acquired winger.
If the team could acquire that second line scoring winger, then the third line may not need improvements. The third line could consist of Boone Jenner, Cole Sillinger, and Yegor Chinakhov. That would be a formidable depth trio.
The fourth line could use a jolt. Mathieu Olivier has been a good player but outside of him, there has been little production. Sean Kuraly likely won’t be returning to the team, so a center to anchor that line would be needed. An additional winger may be required. Mikael Pyyhtia may turn out to be a solid fourth liner next season, but it may not be wise to bank on that. Bringing in a winger to compete with Pyyhtia for that left wing role on the 4th line would be ideal.
It starts at the deadline...
The 2025 trade deadline will be interesting. While the team could elect to not trade away pending free agents and make a playoff push, it is wholly expected that the team will trade away multiple pending UFAs. That could include Kuraly, along with Kevin Labanc, James Van Riemsdyk, Zach Aston-Reese, and Justin Danforth. If those players depart at the trade deadline, that will give ample opportunity to young players to see if they can fill those needed holes.
Should the team stay in the playoff hunt, I wouldn’t be surprised if Waddell does a little bit of selling and buying at the trade deadline. Maybe he keeps some of the players that are ideal for a playoff run, such as van Riemsdyk, Danforth, and Kuraly. Then he trades away Labanc and Aston-Reese. He could then use his abundance of cap space and draft capital to acquire a forward (or two) that can help both this season and in the future. Any and everything is possible and on the table. It just depends on where the team is in the standings come March 7th.
Regardless what happens at the trade deadline, there are multiple holes that need to be filled at the forward position during the 2025 offseason. I expect Waddell to fill some of those holes via trade or free agency prior to the start of the 2025-2026 campaign. Other holes may be filled internally with a prospect or two from Cleveland (looking at you Luca Del Bel Belluz).