Evason knew he was taking on a challenge, but he expected to have Monahan playing with forward Johnny Gaudreau, his close friend and former Calgary Flames teammate. He expected to have captain Boone Jenner and defenseman Erik Gudbranson to lead a group of skilled young players.

This is a team coming out of its rebuild and into its build phase. It has the potential to contend as it matures and as the roster is further tweaked.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have rallied in the face of tragedy and are one of the best stories in the league this season. Adam Vingan writes about how they’ve played their way into the playoff race.

Despite losing Laine and Gaudreau as top scorers, the fast-rising Blue Jackets have impressed GM Don Waddell with a offensive firepower.

The Blue Jackets are still 10-3-2 in their last 15, so it’s fair to say this is a matchup of two of the hotter teams in the NHL, placing fourth (Columbus) and seventh (Toronto) in the NHL in points since Dec. 19.

The Blue Jackets 'mucked' it up with Tortorella's Flyers to win by shootout on Marchenko's borrowed move from Texier: 3 takeaways

Tarasov became the first goaltender in NHL history to record his first career shutout and suffer a loss in the same game.

Zach Werenski was slightly annoyed. The Columbus Blue Jackets were in a tailspin and on the way to another playoff-less spring. The defenceman was spending hour after hour at the team’s

The Columbus Blue Jackets watched a seven-game points streak come to an end on Monday, and their coach wasn't keen on offering up silver linings.

A strong first two periods helped the Blue Jackets survive a third-period push from the Sharks before van Riemsdyk found the empty net.

The NHL playoffs aren't scheduled to start for another three months. But a postseason-like intensity has already arrived for the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.