The Columbus Blue Jackets are heading into the 2026-27 season with pressure hanging over the roster after a rough finish to 2025-26 pushed their playoff drought to six years. The goal is straightforward: get back on track and become a playoff team again. But for a couple of key players, the spotlight is even harsher than that.
Kent Johnson is one of the names carrying the most heat. If he’s still in Columbus after the offseason, he’ll be a player worth watching closely because the Blue Jackets need a major rebound from him.
The 2021 fifth-overall pick had a season to forget in 2025-26, putting up seven goals, 15 assists and 22 points in 76 games. He also found himself healthy scratched at times as his struggles mounted.
That kind of year stands in sharp contrast to what Johnson did in 2024-25, when he set career highs with 24 goals, 33 assists and 57 points in 68 games. At 23, he still has time to turn things around, but the message is clear: this season has to look a lot more like his breakout year than the one that just passed. If it doesn’t, questions about his long-term future in Columbus are only going to grow louder.
Elvis Merzlikins is in a different spot, but the pressure is just as real. The 32-year-old goalie is entering the final season of his contract, and he needs a better year after a rough 2025-26.
In 30 games, Merzlikins posted an .883 save percentage and a 3.40 goals-against average. It was the fourth straight season he finished with a save percentage below .900, and his .883 mark was the second-worst of his NHL career, behind only the .876 he posted in 2022-23.
With that contract clock ticking, Merzlikins is firmly on the hot seat as the season begins. The Blue Jackets will be watching to see whether he can respond and handle the backup role behind Jet Greaves with a strong year.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Captain Debate Just Got Bigger Than One Roster Decision
Boone Jenner is gone, and with his departure the Blue Jackets are back in a familiar place: looking for a captain. Columbus has not had one since the 2020-21 season, and the conversation around who should wear the C has only gotten more interesting because the most obvious candidates were already part of last seasons leadership group. The alternate captains who wore the A give the club a natural starting point, and no name sits closer to the center of that discussion than Zach Werenski.
Werenski has been one of the franchises defining players since his rookie season, and his rise reached another level when he won the NHLs Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman. That kind of resume would normally make the captaincy feel straightforward, but Columbus is weighing more than just leadership qualifications right now. The Blue Jackets suddenly have a bigger question on their hands than a simple roster vacancy, and the answer will say plenty about where the organization believes its backbone should come from next. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Fans Will Remember More Names Than They Expect Here
Jersey No. 47 has never been the flashiest number in Blue Jackets history, but it has connected a few familiar names over the years. Aaron Johnson, Geoff Platt, Dalton Prout and Marcus Bjrk all wore it in Columbus, giving the sweater a quiet little lineage that says as much about depth and opportunity as it does about recognition. For a franchise still building out its history, those are the sorts of details fans tend to remember.
The post-Blue Jackets paths have been just as varied. Johnson moved into coaching, Platt and Bjrk continued their careers in European leagues, and Prout stayed connected to hockey in other professional roles after his time in Columbus. Bjrks most recent stop came after his stint with the Jackets, keeping the number 47 thread alive in a way that stretches well beyond the NHL stage. [Read more 🡒]