COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 23-24 SEASON PREVIEW

The 2022-23 Blue Jackets season was all the Blue Jackets hoped it could be, taking home the leagues ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup Championship. After an excellent regular season which saw the Jackets competing for the Presidents Trophy in a battle with the eventual winner Colorado Avalanche, the most improved RHL team in the Montreal Canadiens, and Metropolitan Division rival New Jersey Devils, the Jackets ultimately ended up just short finishing with the third best overall record. Though there's not much room to improve next season, the Jackets will look to improve upon their regular season finish, hoping to claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference before hopefully defending their championship once more in the Stanley Cup Finals. 

Much of the Columbus roster will be returning next season as the Jackets have already agreed to extensions with a majority of their free agents, but it wasn't possible without losing at least one player off the Stanley Cup winning roster. The unfortunate odd man out was the teams regular season leading scorer, Nazem Kadri. Shortly after the ink had dried on the papers exclaiming the Jackets had won the Stanley Cup, Kadri found himself involved in a trade which sent him out west to the NHL's newest team, the Seattle Kraken. The return for the Jackets leading scorer was modest in prospect Matthew Poitras and a fourth round pick, but unfortunately it was a necessary move to make with only one season remaining on Kadri's contract, with the Jackets needing the room to bring back their stars. 

Barring any further blockbuster trades, the top line will stay intact next season, with Mika Zibanejad centering star wingers Andrei Svechnikov and Tage Thompson. The top line served the Jackets well in the postseason, who after starting off the playoffs slowly, really took off in the second round and continued to click through the Stanley Cup Finals. The Jackets will need their top line to continue that success throughout the season next year if they hope to defend their Stanley Cup victory. With Kadri now gone, the second line will see a bit of a change next season, but ready to step up to the challenge is Matthew Beniers, who is coming off a spectacular rookie season. He'll likely spent time at center alongside winger Brandon Hagel, with the third skater on the second line still being up in the air. The Jackets could possibly slot Kevin Hayes into the wing on the second line, or they may opt to use him on the third line with 2022-23 trade deadline pickup Casey Mittlestadt filling out the final spot on the third line. If Hayes does end up on the third line for the Jackets, it will give the Columbus squad three legitimate scoring lines, with Hayes' likely linemates being Evan Rodrigues and Frank Vatrano. Nick Paul may also see some time on the third line for the Jackets. The fourth line will see some changes as Nic Dowd will test the waters in free agency and the Jackets will look to find some new blood to take over. Rookie Jusso Parssinen will be coming in on an entry level contract, which will be helpful for the cap strapped Jackets, and Mackenzie Entwistle will likely slot in being a useful player on the penalty kill. The Jackets will likely have a few young skaters competing to fill out the fourth line, but could look to add a veteran in free agency. 

On the blue line, veteran defender and long time Jackets captain Duncan Keith just announced his retirement from hockey, so the Blue Jackets will need to find a replacement for his leadership qualities as well as solid play anchoring the team's third pairing. A likely name to replace Keith as captain is veteran defender Alex Pietrangelo who was recently inked to an extension and led the Jackets top pairing through the regular season and playoffs, and will certainly see top pairing minutes next season and beyond for the Jackets. Who will be paired alongside Pietrangelo on the top pairing is still yet to be seen. The Jackets could opt to bring some offensive instincts to their top pairing with young star Quinn Hughes, or they could try to balance their defense a bit with Hughes playing on the second pairing with Hampus Lindholm lining up alongside Pietrangelo. Jonas Brodin will continue to bring consistent steady defense to the second pairing no matter who he plays with. The Jackets third pairing is still yet to be determined, but veteran Colin Miller is likely to see a majority of his time on the third pairing and could play alongside youngster Jake Bean. The Jackets may need to explore other depth options on the third pairing with some concerns over Beans durability for next season, but have an internal option in Gavin Bayreuther.

Darcy Kuemper will return in his starting role for the Jackets, but another year older will prove tough for the veteran netminder to repeat his excellent play from the season. The teams longtime goaltender, Elvis Merzlikins, was moved in a trade at the trade deadline which cleared the way for Casey DeSmith to enter the picture as the team's full time backup goaltender. DeSmith was signed during the free agency period in the offseason to add some veteran depth to the position and spent part of the year in minor leagues before being called up. The Jackets also have young netminders Dustin Wolf and Pyotr Kochetkov in the system, but the young duo will likely split the starting duties in the AHL next season, continuing to hone their craft, with the hopes that one could become the team's starting netminder in the future. 

The Jackets are set up to have an impactful draft after landing the 7th overall pick from a trade with the Seattle Kraken which sent Patrick Kane to the newly minted franchise before the start of the season. The Jackets are currently sent to make nine selections in the 2023 NHL draft which is just a few weeks away.