In the eighth of a 32 part series leading up to the start of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we will look at the key off-season transactions made by all NHL organizations with an overall grade. Here are the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets added three forwards in the offseason. They were center Charlie Coyle of Weymouth, Massachusetts, center Isac Lundestrom of Gallivare, Sweden, and winger Miles Wood of Buffalo, New York. All three players are projected to be on the bottom two lines, meaning the top two lines will remain intact.
Charlie Coyle
Coyle is joining his fourth NHL franchise after seven years each with the Minnesota Wild and Boston Bruins, and the end of last season with the Colorado Avalanche. Coyle and Wood were traded from the Avalanche to the Blue Jackets on June 27 for 20-year-old right wing prospect Gavin Brindley of Estero, Florida, a second round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, and a third round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. Coyle is projected to center Columbus’s third line alongside Cole Sillinger and Mathieu Olivier.
In 83 games in 2024-25, he had 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points. He was a -9 with 24 penalty minutes, seven power-play points, one shorthanded point, three game-winning goals, 115 shots on goal, 374 faceoff wins, 61 blocked shots, 108 hits, 42 takeaways, and 52 giveaways. Coyle’s shorthanded point was a shorthanded goal and came in a 3-2 Bruins win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 1. Coyle scored from defenseman Nikita Zadorov of Moscow, Russia with 41 seconds left in the third period.
Isac Lundestrom
Lundestrom signed a two-year contract worth $2.6 million on Canada Day. He is projected to be on Columbus’s fourth line with Wood and Yegor Chinakhov.
Lundestrom was with the Anaheim Ducks the last seven seasons. In 2024-25, he had four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 79 games. He was a -12 with 10 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, one power-play point, 60 shots on goal, 442 faceoff wins, 68 blocked shots, 48 hits, 15 takeaways, and 26 giveaways. Lundestrom’s game-winning goal came in the Ducks’s home opener, a 2-0 Ducks win over the San Jose Sharks on October 12, 2024. Lundestrom opened the scoring from Brock McGinn and Brett Leason at the 11 minute mark of the third period.
Miles Wood
Wood is playing for his third NHL franchise. He played eight seasons with the New Jersey Devils, and the last two seasons with the Avalanche.
In 2024-25 with Colorado, Wood had four goals and four assists for eight points in 37 games. He was a -5 with 48 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 60 shots on goal, three faceoff wins, 15 blocked shots, 48 hits, six takeaways, and 26 giveaways. Wood’s game-winning goal was in a 2-1 Avalanche win over the Washington Capitals on November 21 from Cale Makar and Parker Kelly at 3:29 of the third period.
Projected Grade
The Blue Jackets offseason grade here is a C+. The addition of Coyle deserves praise for his speed and finesse. The addition of Lundestrom and Wood don’t carry as much significance. Wood had a down year in Colorado as he continued to struggle defensively.
