The Blue Jackets are set to kick off their four-game preseason schedule Monday night against the Detroit Red Wings, with puck drop at 7 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus released its roster for the opener, and the lineup includes a mix of established NHL names, recent call-ups and younger players getting a look in camp.
Up front, the Jackets will dress Owen Sillinger, Oiva Keskinen, Mathieu Olivier, Luca Pinelli, James Malatesta, Luke Tuch, Max McCue, Josh Eernisse, Mikael Pyyhtia, Conor Garland, Jack Williams and Owen Griffin.
The defense group features Denton Mateychuk, Colton White, Ivan Provorov, Dante Fabbro, Boston Buckberger and Guillaume Richard.
In goal, Columbus will have Pheonix Copley and Jet Greaves available for the matchup.
Among the forwards, Olivier is coming off a 61-game NHL season with Columbus in 2025-26, while Garland also brings NHL experience after appearing for Vancouver and Columbus. Pyyhtia skated in five NHL games for the Blue Jackets last season, and Pinelli got into three NHL games. Sillinger, Keskinen, Malatesta, Tuch, McCue, Eernisse, Williams and Griffin round out the group.
On the blue line, Mateychuk, Provorov and Fabbro all logged major NHL minutes for Columbus last season. White split time between New Jersey and Utica, while Buckberger and Richard are also in the mix after playing for Denver and Cleveland, respectively.
Copley comes into camp after one NHL game with Los Angeles and 33 AHL games with Ontario last season, while Greaves spent most of 2025-26 with Columbus, posting a 26-19-9 record in 53 NHL appearances.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Suddenly Have A Dante Fabbro Concern To Watch
Preseason injuries are piling up around the league, and the Blue Jackets have their own situation to monitor after defenseman Dante Fabbro left a game with an upper-body injury. Columbus is already in the part of camp where every shift matters, and any interruption to a projected lineup piece gets attention fast, especially on the back end where depth and continuity can be tested in a hurry.
Fabbros exit now sits alongside a handful of other early-camp health concerns elsewhere, with Pittsburgh forward Benjamin Kindel and Rangers forward Adam Sykora both leaving preseason games after lower-body issues, while Penguins winger Ville Koivunen also missed action after taking a puck to the face in practice. For Columbus, the focus is less on the broader preseason churn and more on how quickly Fabbro can get back on the ice and whether this becomes a brief setback or something the Blue Jackets need to track more closely. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Suddenly Have An Opening Night Blue Line Concern
The Blue Jackets were already working through the usual late-preseason roster sorting when the back end took a hit in Mondays game against Detroit. Dante Fabbro, projected to open the regular season on Columbus third defensive pairing, went down with an upper-body injury and did not return, a development that adds a little more uncertainty to a group that was trying to settle into shape before opening night.
For a team that wants stability on the blue line, the timing is far from ideal, especially with the regular season looming. If Fabbro is forced to miss time, veteran Erik Gudbranson looms as the most likely next man up, giving the Jackets a familiar, sturdier option while they wait to see how serious the injury is and how the rest of the defensive picture sorts itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Win Comes With An Early Dante Fabbro Concern
The Blue Jackets got through their first preseason game with a win on the board, but the more immediate takeaway had little to do with the shootout finish. Columbus and its coaching staff were left to monitor Dante Fabbro, who exited early with an upper-body injury after logging a little over 8 minutes and will be reevaluated Tuesday morning, a reminder that September results often matter less than simply getting everyone through healthy.
The game itself never produced a goal in regulation, so the outcome came down to the skills competition and a handful of small details that preseason often magnifies. Columbus will gladly take the victory, but the focus now shifts to Fabbros status and whether the Blue Jackets have to deal with an early defensive absence before the exhibition slate really gets moving. [Read more 🡒]