Kent Johnson has quietly been the best forward on the Blue Jackets through 5 games

Though the on-ice results have been pretty poor, there have been some positive outliers for the Blue Jackets early in this season. Earlier in the week, we talked about Cole Sillinger's much improved start. Today, lets take a look at Kent Johnson, who has quietly been this team's best forward so far.

Creativity and skill are on display.

After dealing away Kirill Marchenko and acquiring Matthew Knies, the Blue Jackets dug further into their blooming identity as a big, heavy team. While Knies brings a lot of skill into the lineup, it's safe to say that he isn't the creative play driver that the team needs for its top line.

That makes Kent Johnson even more important, and if his start is any indication, this team is going to be just fine on that front. Through 5 games, KJ is tied with Sillinger for the team lead in goals (3), and is also tied for second on the team with 4 points. He also leads the team with 14 shots on goal.

Digging deeper, the metrics all point to a guy who has rediscovered his game. Per hockeyreference.com, Kent is second on the team in CF%, sitting at 55.5%. That leads all forwards, with only defenseman Damon Severson (59.6%) ahead of him.

That CF% metric tells us that his team has the puck more when he's on the ice. For a guy with his hands and vision, that's a good sign, and the early returns are very positive. If he can maintain his play, this team has found a dangerous top line scorer.

For everyone involved, last season's Kent Johnson was a huge disappointment. In fact, his diminished production from year-over-year, was a big reason why this team missed the playoffs. All along, we hoped he would work his way back, and so far this year, it looks like he has.

All about confidence.

Whether it was the weight he lost, or the way he was being coached, or just something else entirely; KJ was not a confident player last year. Too often, he would make the wrong decision, lose a board battle, or simply get knocked off of the puck. He looked reactive and timid.

I have not noticed that so far this season. His first goal of the season against Utah is a great example. He doesn't try to stay above the puck on this play. Instead, he trusts his line-mate to win a board battle and flies out of the zone, putting himself into a breakaway situation. This player, with that scoring chance, is going to bury it more often than not, which is exactly what he does.

On his second goal of the year, we see a lot of the things that were missing last season. I think 2025-26 KJ would have held up with this puck near the top of the circle, and looked to dish it off. Instead, he drives to the net, taking the space the Blues left for him before firing the puck past Jordan Binnington. This was a confident looking play:

Finally, on his third goal of the season, he reads the play and is ready to strike again. There is no hesitation as the Panthers turn the puck over to him, he simply uses his instincts to make them pay.

The Blue Jackets did not draft Kent Johnson to turn him into a two-way grinder. Again, I can't attest to coaching being the issue last year. But, I do know that playing him on the fourth line and healthy scratching him was not helping anyone.

This year, Kent is playing free, confidently using his skill to do the things that made him a top-5 pick at the NHL Draft. He may have the highest scoring ceiling of any player on this team or in their system right now. A breakout campaign, or even a return to his 2024-25 form, would be massive for this franchise.

Lets hope this is just a sign of bigger things to come.

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