Records are made to be broken.
In 2021-22, the Blue Jackets set records for goals scored and goals allowed in a single season. In 2022-23, several individual records are at risk of being broken. Let's see which players have a chance to etch themselves into Blue Jackets lore next season.
Patrik Laine
Assuming he signs an extension with the Jackets, Laine will be entering his second full season with the team. No Blue Jacket has scored more than 41 goals in a season, a record shared by Rick Nash and Cam Atkinson. Laine has already eclipsed that mark in his career, as he scored 44 goals in the 2017-18 season. However, he has not scored more than 30 goals in any season since. In 2021-22, he scored 26 goals in 56 games, which when pro-rated over an 82-game season, comes out to just over 38 goals, three short of the franchise record. Laine has shown the ability to be an elite goal scorer at the NHL level. If he can stay healthy all season there's a realistic chance he scores over 41 goals. Additionally, the longest goal streak in franchise history is seven games. Laine had a stretch last year where he scored 13 goals in 10 games. However, he did not break the record of consecutive games with a goal, which is seven games. That record may be in jeopardy next season.
Zach Werenski
Werenski already holds several records, such as goals by a defenseman in a season and a career, as well as career points by a defenseman. But, he has the opportunity to break even more. Seth Jones holds the record for career assists by a defenseman with 173. Werenski enters the 2022-23 season with 161 career assists so that record could be broken by Halloween. Jones also holds the record for most assists by a defenseman in a single season with 41. In 2021-22, Werenski posted 37 assists in 68 games, so if he can play all 82 games next season, that record is in great jeopardy. Additionally, with all the assists he's tallied, he has never gone more than four consecutive games with a helper, a mark that is two games shy of the franchise record.
Kent Johnson
Johnson played in just nine games in the 2021-22 season, his first in the NHL, which means he still is a rookie. No rookie in franchise history has scored more than 20 goals, 36 assists, and 48 points in a single season. The fifth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Johnson displayed his elite-level talent in his short time in the NHL. He is capable of breaking all of these records next season, but that will depend on his role.
