Blue Jackets determined to take next step with playoff berth, GM says

The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t want to break up the band.

Not when there was unfinished business to take care of.

For the Blue Jackets, who finished just two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference Wild card last spring, there was a desire from the players to take the next step this season. It was a message management heard loud and clear.

“A lot of people said we should be very happy (getting that close), but these guys weren't satisfied with that,” general manager Don Waddell said.

As such, the Blue Jackets lineup will look very familiar when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, NHLN, SN1, TVAS) at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday in what is the only game on the NHL schedule. According to Waddell, there’s a good reason for that.

“They were very disappointed that we didn't make (the postseason),” he said. “So that carried it into the summertime, and that's why I said multiple times, I didn't feel like I needed to make a lot of changes. We wanted to make a few, of course, but didn't need to make a lot because these guys, what they went through last year and how they felt during the year, I knew they'd come back this year ready to roll.”

Which is what they did when they arrived in Columbus in September.

“Guys all came back, and training camp had a great vibe,” Waddell said. “Guys were here early, and the feeling I had amongst the great leadership on this team, along with our young players, is that these guys aren't going to let it happen again. So I felt good about coming in here, and we've actually probably played better than our record indicates.”

To that end, both the Maple Leafs (5-4-1) and Blue Jackets (5-4-0) have started the season flirting with the .500 mark. Toronto defeated the Calgary Flames 4-3 Tuesday while Columbus defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime.

Waddell said the number of teams in the NHL’s so-called mushy middle early can partially be attributed to the parity in the League, a situation that has been enhanced by the escalating salary cap in the coming years. Teams seem to be interested in keeping their own players, especially with the number of quality ones dwindling on the open market.

“As for the lack of player movement around the League, if you go back and look at the transactions this summer, I haven't counted them, but it's by far the least amount of transactions we've had in probably 15 years,” Waddell said. “And a lot of it has to do with there not being a lot of top-end free agents on the market, of course, because of the cap going up, and people are finding a way to keep their own players.

“If you go back the last five, six years, every summer there's been three or four teams that had to make moves to get under the cap in the summer. But after free agency started this summer, there wasn't anybody in cap jail that had to make moves. So I just think going forward, free agency is not going to be like it used to be.”

That being the case, Waddell said drafting and player development are going to be as important as ever. A prime example is Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko, the No. 49 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by Columbus who has nine points (five goals, four assists) in nine games heading into the matchup against Toronto.

“He really took a step forward playing both ends of the ice last year,” Waddell said of the 25-year-old who had career highs in goals (31), assists (43), points (74) and plus-minus (plus-29) in 79 games in 2024-25. “And when you play both ends, you get more opportunity.

“I'd have to say he's been our catalyst from a goal-scoring standpoint, that's for sure. He has a bright future.”

Waddell also offered an update on forward Yegor Chinakhov, who requested a trade in July.

Chinakhov, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 30 games last season and was frustrated that he was often out of the lineup while the Blue Jackets were making their run down the stretch for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot, which came up just short. The 24-year-old, who had a goal and an assist in the Blue Jackets win against the Sabres Tuesday, has primarily played on the fourth line and has four points (two goals, two assists) in six games, averaging 9:44 of ice time.

“First of all, it's not the first player I've ever dealt with who has asked for a trade,” Waddell said. “And just because a player wants a trade doesn’t mean you have to make a trade.

“I said to him and his agent prior to training camp that for something to happen, it has to make sense for us. I don’t need to win any potential deal, but I need to get equal value for what we think we have. If we get that, we’ll look at it. If not, come to camp and work your way into the lineup.

“He showed up two weeks before training camp, and he's worked hard the last four or five games he's played. He’s doing everything from his end right now that we could ask him to do.”