Inside look at Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 8-Sept. 8. Today, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will enter the 2022-23 season older, maybe wiser, but certainly more expensive in their effort to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a two-year absence.
With the surprise signing of free agent Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year contract July 13 and the signing of their restricted free agent Patrik Laine to a four-year contract nine days later, the Blue Jackets want to cast aside questions if this will be another rebuilding season.
Gaudreau had an NHL career-high 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games for the Calgary Flames last season and is the most important free agent acquisition in Blue Jackets history.
"To get a player of this caliber is going to make us instantly better and make better the players around him, which is really important in our culture of a hockey team, that you have players that lead by example, and he's done that throughout his career," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said.
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Laine will benefit by Gaudreau's arrival. Despite missing 26 games due to injury (19 oblique strain, seven upper body) and the death of his father, he had 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists) in 56 games.
"I feel like we took a really good step in the right direction this summer," Laine said. "[Gaudreau] has been one of the best point producers throughout his career and always has success. If I have a chance to play with a guy like that, it will be awesome.
"Hopefully we can build some chemistry, and I feel we could be a really good duo in this league and bring our power play to a new level and win this team a lot of hockey games."
The Blue Jackets are salivating at the thought of a power play that includes Gaudreau, Laine and Jakub Voracek (56 assists last season) after finishing 24th in the NHL (18.6 percent).
"Laine's got one of the best shots in the League, probably after [Washington Capitals forward Alex] Ovechkin the way he snaps the puck and gets it off so quickly," Gaudreau said. "Those are players you want to play with."
Columbus was 37-38-7 last season under first-year coach Brad Larsen.
Because of the big contracts for Gaudreau ($9.75 million annual average value) and Laine ($8.7 million AAV), the Blue Jackets had to trade forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Seattle Kraken for draft choices to get below the NHL salary cap. His 28 goals led Columbus, which scored a team-record 258 goals and averaged 3.15 goals per game (14th in the NHL).
However, they set a Blue Jackets record by allowing 297 goals (3.62) to rank 28th.
"We had [11] defensemen and I think we had four with 100 NHL games of experience," Larsen said.

Columbus addressed that too; former Calgary defenseman Erik Gudbranson (6-foot-5, 222 pounds) signed a four-year contract July 13. He'll add the size and snarl the defense lacked.
"It's a young team and maybe they didn't have a little bit of bite or the fight they needed last year," Gudbranson said. "That's just a little something that I bring with me as part of my game. I like to play the game physically, play it clean and play it honestly, and try to bring guys into the fight with me, if that's the best way of saying that."
The Blue Jackets had the second-youngest NHL roster last season and the youngest in their history (average age 25.38), with 10 players making their NHL debut, including forward Cole Sillinger, who had 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) as an 18-year-old.
"We have a good balance of youth to now adding some experience with some guys in between, and it's a real exciting time," Larsen said.
The Blue Jackets are counting on Sillinger and other young players such as defenseman Adam Boqvist, who turned 22 on Monday, to continue their upward projections so that Gaudreau, Laine and company can be showcased in the postseason.
"I think there's a lot of potential," Gaudreau said. "I thought it was a good spot personally for me and we can have a lot of success here."