Training camp for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season was exactly what they’d hoped it would be.
Boring.
No major injuries have jeopardized the lineup, no rookies stole roster spots, even though Luca Del Bel Belluz made a solid case, and the only position battle was at goaltender. Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves made their cases to start the season opener Oct. 9 in Nashville, but they’re expected to split the net either way.
It’s been a real snoozer thus far, including a 2-5-0 preseason record, but that’s often the case for teams expecting to be good. The Blue Jackets’ opening roster is what it was projected to be in the summer.
Goaltending is the biggest question mark, a core group of veterans is eager to provide leadership, and a younger core of rising stars is ready to push even harder. There’s skill, size, toughness and an identity of being relentless that the Blue Jackets spent last season building.
Now, it’s almost time to drop the puck for keeps and they’re ready to go. Here’s a closer look at the Blue Jackets’ 22-man opening roster and how they might line up against the Predators:
Columbus Blue Jackets forwards
Del Bel Belluz made an argument to stick around to start the season in Columbus, but he’d have started out as the last forward in a group of 14, and that would have meant sitting out as a healthy scratch too often for a guy who’s 21 and needs to play every game in a key top-six role as a center.
He’ll get that opportunity with AHL Cleveland again, centering the Monsters’ top line while waiting to see if an NHL need for him arises in Columbus. As for the 13 forwards who made the Blue Jackets’ opening roster, it looks like Yegor Chinakhov might be the odd guy out among top 12 who’ll start out.
The Jackets should be strong down the middle with Sean Monahan, Adam Fantilli, Charlie Coyle and Isac Lundestrom as the top four centers with additional options at the pivot in Boone Jenner, Cole Sillinger and Dmitri Voronkov. Chinakhov, who requested a trade in the summer, could force his way into the lineup.
Here’s how the Jackets may look up front in Nashville:
First line: Dmitri Voronkov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko
Second line: Boone Jenner – Adam Fantilli – Cole Sillinger
Third line: Kent Johnson – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Fourth line: Zach Aston-Reese – Isac Lundestrom – Miles Wood
Extra: Yegor Chinakhov
Columbus Blue Jackets defensemen
After signing Dante Fabbro and Ivan Provorov to contract extensions, nothing has changed with the composition of the Blue Jackets’ defensive group. They’ll carry seven defensemen after losing Daemon Hunt to the Minnesota Wild via waivers, so determining the main three pairings is the only question to answer.
Zach Werenski and Fabbro have the top spot locked up, while it looks like Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson will get a chance to skate together on the second pairing. That leaves either Jake Christiansen or Denton Mateychuk to skate on the third pairing with veteran Erik Gudbranson.
Christiansen, coming off his first full NHL season, is expected to start out in a depth role as the seventh defenseman after putting together a solid training camp to cement his roster spot in the preseason. Here’s how the Blue Jackets could line up defensively in Nashville:
First pairing: Zach Werenski – Dante Dabbro
Second pairing: Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Third pairing: Denton Mateychuk – Erik Gudbranson
Extra: Jake Christiansen
Columbus Blue Jackets goalies
Merzlikins bristled when asked at the start of camp whether he felt pressured to outplay Greaves for the top goaltending role, which he’s owned the past three years.
Greaves has built a better argument to start for the Blue Jackets if you go by their preseason numbers, but Merzlikins made two tough road starts in Pittsburgh and Washington. Greaves finished last season hot in the final five games of the Blue Jackets’ six-game winning streak to end last season, so the team is comfortable with either one.
No matter which is tabbed to start first, expect both to play a lot during a compressed schedule before and after the NHL’s break in February for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Columbus Blue Jackets coaching staff
Don Waddell, the Blue Jackets’ president/general manager, made several offseason changes to his team’s support staff, including a new strength and conditioning coach and new head equipment manager. The coaching staff, however, wasn’t touched.
Coach Dean Evason’s staff returns intact after Waddell re-signed assistant Steve McCarthy, so there shouldn’t be any lapses caused by players adjusting to new coaches. McCarthy will again coordinate the penalty kill, Mike Haviland will head up the power play and Evason will oversee a staff of four assistants that Scott Ford, Jared Boll and goaltending coach Niklas Backstrom.
The Blue Jackets are banking on coaching continuity helping them bring last season’s finish into this season’s start.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Breaking down the Columbus Blue Jackets’ opening roster for 2025-26 season
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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