The Columbus Blue Jackets’ week brought a little of everything: lineup churn, injury news, a jersey reveal that’s already stirring debate, and a couple of results that gave the club some momentum before a setback in Buffalo.
One of the biggest off-ice storylines came with the announcement of the 2026-27 “Hometown Remix” alternate jerseys from the Blue Jackets and Fanatics. The new look is gray, and that alone is bound to split opinion. As the source noted, plenty of fans feel the color clashes with what the Blue Jackets are supposed to represent.
There was also a roster shakeup after the win over the Avalanche. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Columbus placed defenseman Emil Andrae and forward Danton Heinen on waivers.
Shortly after the victory against Dallas, the Blue Jackets also recalled two forwards from the Cleveland Monsters. Steven Lorentz, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Kirill Marchenko deal, is joining the club after posting 7 goals and 9 points in 9 games for Cleveland.
At 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, he adds size to an already heavy forward group. Lorentz has played 381 NHL games and has 80 total points.
The injury picture has also been part of the conversation. Isac Lundestrom is listed with an Achilles surgery, is on LTIR, and has missed 12 games. The Blue Jackets also had to deal with injuries to Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko after the Buffalo game.
On the ice, Columbus delivered one of its best performances of the stretch by blasting Colorado. Mathieu Olivier, Ivan Provorov, Jake Christiansen, Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle, and Val Nichushkin all found the scoresheet in the win over the Avalanche. Charlie Coyle was the big driver there, finishing with four points, and the Jackets improved to 6-7-0 on the season.
The follow-up against Dallas turned into another tight one, and Zach Werenski finally got on the board with his first goal of the season. That was the only regulation goal in a game where Cam Talbot stood out, and Columbus eventually won 2-1 in the shootout. Val Nichushkin and Kent Johnson scored on Casey DeSmith in the skills competition, pushing the Blue Jackets to 7-7.
Kent Johnson has been one of the brighter stories in the group’s early season bounce-back. He’s on pace for 42 goals and 84 points, and his shootout success is starting to stand out on a bigger scale.
After the winner against Dallas, Johnson moved to third all time in shootout percentage at 63.2%. That leaves him 1.1% behind Blues forward Mason McTavish.
Former Blue Jacket Petteri Nummelin remains No. 1 all time, having scored on 8 of 10 attempts.
Werenski’s shot volume has also been a talking point. He has 36 shots through 13 games, which projects to 233 over a full season. He currently ranks second on the team in shots behind Adam Fantilli, who has 40.
The week ended with a rougher result in Buffalo. Columbus dropped that game and fell to 7-8-0 on the season. Kent Johnson and Werenski scored for the Blue Jackets, with Werenski’s coming on the power play, but Jet Greaves allowed five goals in what the source described as a scheduled loss for Columbus.
There was also a note from the Blue Jackets’ past that made headlines. On November 5th, Johnny Gaudreau was posthumously inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026.
His mother, Jane, said: "His goal was always to end his career, somehow, playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. He would say to Guy, Kristen, Katie, and I, that even if he had to go and sign one day, he was going to end his career as a Philadelphia Flyer.
Because he thought that every young person growing up should be able to play for his home team."
And in a separate note on a former Blue Jackets goalie, Tarasov has been sharp with the Red Wings. He’s 2-2-2, but his numbers have been excellent: a .929 save percentage, second-best in the NHL among goalies with at least five games played, and a 1.79 goals-against average, third-best in the league.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Goalie Plan Looks Less Settled Than Fans Thought
Sergei Ivanovs path to Columbus is starting to come into focus, and it looks a little less straightforward than some fans may have assumed. The Blue Jackets 2022 draft pick is still on loan with SKA St Petersburg in the KHL, but he remains under an entry-level contract and is expected to join the organization in the spring, giving the club another young goaltending option to track as the season winds down.
What happens next will depend on how quickly Ivanov adjusts to the North American game once he arrives. The Blue Jackets are viewing him as a potential backup for next season, but there is still a development step in between, and Cleveland could be the first stop before he gets a real look in the NHL picture. For a team trying to sort out its crease long term, his progress is one of the more important storylines to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Face A Crucial Home Stand With Scoring Pressure Rising
The Blue Jackets are back at home trying to steady a season that has already swung from encouraging to uneven, with a 7-8-0 start and a few results that have shown both sides of the roster. A win over Colorado offered a reminder of what Columbus can look like when it is sharp, but the bigger issue has been finding that level often enough while dealing with the kind of lineup churn that can make any stretch feel heavier than it should.
Sean Monahan is out with a lower-body injury, Dmitri Voronkov is also sidelined, and Isac Lundestrom is getting closer to a return from an Achilles injury, leaving the Blue Jackets to patch together their forward group as Florida, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia come through town. Columbus has already brought in Steven Lorentz and Jack Williams for added depth, and with Charlie Coyle and Zach Werenski expected to carry major minutes, this home stand feels like a useful early test of how much scoring pressure the club can absorb before it starts to show. [Read more 🡒]