5 game-changing forwards the Blue Jackets can steal from the Western Conference in NHL Free Agency

Joe Pavelski, F/Dallas Stars

This is one where you’ll want to hear me out because why would a rebuilding team like the Columbus Blue Jackets sign a 40-year-old Joe Pavelski? To be honest, there is a ton of logic here: Think about how much experience and wisdom someone like Pavelski can bring to Adam Fantilli and company. 

No, Pavelski wouldn’t spend any longer than a season in Columbus, but the takeaways that a team getting younger can get from someone who’s spent 18 seasons in the NHL, especially from a forward who has been consistent since he debuted in 2006. 

Pavelski also exemplifies everything you want in a solid, complete hockey player, thanks to his ability to score, win faceoffs, and play defense; it’s all there even in his advanced age. Sure, it may be tough to convince one of the league’s most accomplished players of the 21st century to play for a team like the Blue Jackets, but it would be a rewarding experience in his career twilight. 

Warren Foegele, Edmonton Oilers

Warren Foegele is another player on this list you may not see as a game-changer, but he also never needed to do most of the heavy lifting with the Edmonton Oilers. Someone like Foegele may be a second or even a third-liner for one of the NHL’s most outstanding hockey teams, but Columbus is a place he could shine.

Foegele, despite 2023-24 being his lone solid season in terms of points, would be a surefire top-six player in Columbus and with most other organizations. He’s also someone who saw adversity this past season, so if the Blue Jackets fall into an early-season slump, someone like Foegele wouldn’t push the panic button. 

No, he wouldn’t come in to be a star player by any means, but Foegele has already proven how much of a solid contributor he can be on any team, whether they’re elite like Edmonton or on the bottom like Columbus.