The Columbus Blue Jackets' 2024-25 season begins Oct. 10 at the Minnesota Wild.
It will be a reunion for Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason as he returns to the scene of where he spent parts of five seasons as the head coach of the Wild in his first crack as an NHL head coach.
And as we know from Evason's introductory press conference with Columbus, the magnitude of that game, aside from being Game 1 of 82, is not lost on Evason.
"You know what I dislike is when ex-coaches go in and say, 'This game means nothing to me," Evason said. "That's such bull. Of course, it means something to you, right? They just fired me last year. Of course, it means something to me."
Of course, Evason and the Blue Jackets want to win every game but expect some extra juice for the team on opening night as they try to get their coach his first win against his old team.
As September and training camp get closer, and the start of the season not long after that, we look at five storylines surrounding the team to monitor.
An NHL Coach Behind The Bench
For the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, the Blue Jackets will have a veteran NHL head coach behind the bench.
The Blue Jackets' best years came under John Tortorella and the club is hoping for much of the same as they brought in Evason this summer to replace the first-time head coach Pascal Vincent who lasted one season as the man in charge.
Our Dan Dukart broke down Evason's systems and tactics he could look to deploy with the Blue Jackets this season.
It's always worked out better for this franchise when they have a veteran head coach behind the bench and on the surface, you feel better with what Evason provides for this team as they seek to develop and turn the page on their rebuild.
Patrik Laine Might Start Season In Columbus
To likely the surprise of no one, president and general manager Don Waddell has not found a trade partner for Patrik Laine.
Waddell recently alluded to the fact he probably could have already traded Laine if he was willing to retain salary but it's not Waddell's first choice.
"At this time of the year, people are less responsive," Waddell said. "So, I don't really know. I think it's going to play out for a while.
"We might end up eating some money. If I wanted to eat half, I could've traded him by now, but that's not my first choice."
As those in the media have suggested, it appears likelier that Laine will have to start the season in Columbus and look to get off to a good start to help build up trade interest. At least the type of interest that might net the type of trade return that Waddell would find suitable to pull the trigger.
On Friday's TSN OverDrive, Waddell shared the latest on the Laine situation.
Don Waddell on TSN Overdrive talking about Laine (thread):
— The CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) August 17, 2024
Hes been very vocal about it way before I got here that he does not want to play for the Blue Jackets. I think there was a lot of things that went on in the locker room and he just doesnt want it. #CBJ
At the end of the day like I told Andy Scott his representation, I can try to do it but if theres not a deal to be made hes gonna have to come back here to camp and well welcome him back and try to make the best out of the situation. #CBJ
— The CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) August 17, 2024
Cole Sillinger's Contract
On Aug. 9, The Athletic's Aaron Portzline posted on X (formerly Twitter), that it appeared the Blue Jackets and Cole Sillinger were getting closer on a contract for likely two years.
There hasn't been much news on that front since, but it's still early and the deal should get done soon enough.
The Hockey Writers' Mark Scheig did a Q&A with Waddell and asked about the Sillinger contract situation.
"Yeah, we're real close," Waddell said. "His agent has been very, there's been lots of talks going on, all very positive talks. We're all within the striking distance. It's just a matter of they have a position, we have a position and there’s no doubt in my mind it'll get worked out."
Elvis Merzlikins Has Another Shot
Through all the drama and conversation regarding the Blue Jackets, Elvis Merzlikins, and everything else last season, Merzlikins will have his shot to turn around his game this season. It might be his last shot.
"I tried to trade for (Elvis) four years ago," Waddell told Blue Jackets radio broadcaster Bob McElligott earlier this summer. "We have to spend as much time and resources on this player to try to get him back where he is. If we do that and it doesn't work, we got to turn the page.
"But I can't leave here right now knowing that we have him for three more years, knowing where he was four years ago, and say we didn't do everything we could have done to make this work. That would be a fault by me."
While it's safe to assume Waddell considered any moves that he thought could help the hockey team, he spoke matter-of-factly regarding Merzlikins' contract situation, as reported by Portzline on June 20.
"Let's be honest, nobody is going to trade for that contract. Nobody," Waddell said. "People say, 'Well, why don't you buy out the contract?' It's a six-year buyout, and there are years three, four, five and six, when you might need that cap space.
"So you’ve eliminated those two options."
Assuming Merzlikins' health, and barring a major move between now and the start of the season, he'll be the first goalie for Columbus. But with Jet Greaves continuing to show promise at the NHL level, and Daniil Tarasov's emergence in the second half before another injury ended his season, this goaltending triangle will solve itself one way or another.
The Young Guys
Ultimately wins and losses will always matter first. In this case, it's how you're getting there.
As the Blue Jackets have navigated four straight seasons without a trip to the playoffs, the team will continue to lean on its young core including Adam Fantilli who only played 49 games and scored 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) after missing the second half of last season with a calf laceration.
The Blue Jackets have several players who are 25 or younger who will play or have the potential to play major roles for the team in the coming seasons including Gavin Brindley (20), Yegor Chinakhov (23), Jake Christiansen (25), Jet Greaves (23), Kent Johnson (22), Kirill Marchenko (24), Cole Sillinger (21), Daniil Tarasov (25), and Dmitri Voronkov (24).
Denton Mateychuk (20) could make his NHL debut this season and David Jiricek (20) will get more playing time. Stanislav Svozil (21), Corson Ceulemans (21), and Samuel Knazko (22) are also in the defensive pipeline.
Development is on the mind as the Blue Jackets recently finalized its coaching staff, including Jared Boll, Steve McCarthy, Niklas Backstrom, and the new additions of Mike Haviland and Scott Ford.
Haviland was an assistant with the Cleveland Monsters the last two seasons, was head coach at Colorado College for seven seasons, and was on the Chicago Blackhawks staff from 2008-12, including a litany of other stops around minor league hockey before his Chicago stop.
Ford spent the past eight seasons as an assistant coach for the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals.
