3 Players Entering Final Season With Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets have seemingly been rebuilding a long time and that won't stop this season. Their roster is young and will go through growing pains, but just isn't good enough or experienced enough to go anywhere yet. That being said, whether it's at the trade deadline or after the season, there are going to be changes again to this team.

Patrik Laine

The biggest rumors swirling around in August is where Patrik Laine might be traded to. He has two years left on his deal at $8.7 million AAV and when he is healthy and good to play, he is still very effective. The 26-year-old is a pure sniper, but playing a full season continues to be the problem. While there's a chance he is traded before next season still, he's working out and gearing up for the season. I think teams may be more inclined to target him at the trade deadline or after the season so there's less time where he can be injured or out of the lineup. Laine's value is lower now than if he has a strong start to the season in 2024-25 and I'm betting the Blue Jackets wait on their opportunity since there's still time remaining on his contract.

Ivan Provorov

Ivan Provorov was a solid addition by the Blue Jackets when the team acquired him. He's a top-4 defender known for staying healthy. After a season in which the team was ravaged by injuries, he was a breath of fresh air. Provorov is going into the final season of his contract and there's young defenders like David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk who will have full time NHL roles by the end of the season and need places in the everyday lineup. Columbus should be able to get solid value out of Provorov if the team is selling at the deadline as expected.

Mathieu Olivier

The entire projected fourth line of the Blue Jackets are going to be UFAs after next season, but this doesn't mean that Columbus is going to change all of them up. Sean Kuraly and Justin Danforth have been solid in that role, but also played a little more than a fourth liner would, so we will have to see how a full season goes fully in that role. Mathieu Olivier, on the other hand, is less effective and played a lot less than the other two. Even though he is the youngest, that won't give him much of an advantage in returning to Columbus on a new contract the following season.