# 2021–22 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2021–22 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the 22nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997. On April 16, 2022, the Blue Jackets were eliminated from playoff contention when the Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 54 | 20 | 8 | 47 | 278 | 202 | +76 | 116 |
| 2 | x – New York Rangers | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 44 | 254 | 207 | +47 | 110 |
| 3 | x – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 37 | 272 | 229 | +43 | 103 |
| 4 | x – Washington Capitals | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 35 | 275 | 245 | +30 | 100 |
| 5 | e – New York Islanders | 82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 34 | 231 | 237 | −6 | 84 |
| 6 | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 26 | 262 | 300 | −38 | 81 |
| 7 | e – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 27 | 46 | 9 | 19 | 248 | 307 | −59 | 63 |
| 8 | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 25 | 46 | 11 | 20 | 211 | 298 | −87 | 61 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AT | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 51 | 26 | 5 | 40 | 255 | 220 | +35 | 107 |
| 2 | ME | x – Washington Capitals | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 35 | 275 | 245 | +30 | 100 |
| 3 | ME | e – New York Islanders | 82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 34 | 231 | 237 | −6 | 84 |
| 4 | ME | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 26 | 262 | 300 | −38 | 81 |
| 5 | AT | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 25 | 232 | 290 | −58 | 75 |
| 6 | AT | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 21 | 230 | 312 | −82 | 74 |
| 7 | AT | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 26 | 227 | 266 | −39 | 73 |
| 8 | ME | e – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 27 | 46 | 9 | 19 | 248 | 307 | −59 | 63 |
| 9 | ME | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 25 | 46 | 11 | 20 | 211 | 298 | −87 | 61 |
| 10 | AT | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 22 | 49 | 11 | 16 | 221 | 319 | −98 | 55 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2021–22 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics

As of March 22, 2022

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Patrik Laine | 56 | 26 | 30 | 56 | -7 | 24 |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand | 80 | 28 | 29 | 57 | −35 | 16 |
| Jakub Voracek | 79 | 6 | 56 | 62 | −13 | 44 |
| Boone Jenner | 59 | 23 | 21 | 44 | −11 | 22 |
| Zach Werenski | 68 | 11 | 37 | 48 | −15 | 22 |
| Gustav Nyquist | 82 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −12 | 26 |
| Max Domi$^‡$ | 53 | 9 | 23 | 32 | +2 | 37 |
| Jack Roslovic | 81 | 22 | 23 | 45 | +2 | 12 |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | 80 | 5 | 28 | 33 | –3 | 68 |
| Sean Kuraly | 77 | 14 | 16 | 30 | +2 | 61 |
| Cole Sillinger | 79 | 16 | 15 | 31 | −22 | 37 |
| Eric Robinson | 67 | 10 | 17 | 27 | -1 | 18 |
| Alexandre Texier | 36 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 12 |
| Adam Boqvist | 52 | 11 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 12 |
| Jake Bean | 67 | 7 | 18 | 25 | -5 | 26 |
| Andrew Peeke | 82 | 2 | 13 | 15 | –14 | 60 |
| Yegor Chinakhov | 62 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −27 | 16 |
| Dean Kukan | 41 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -2 | 16 |
| Gavin Bayreuther | 43 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| Justin Danforth | 45 | 10 | 4 | 14 | -5 | 10 |
| Gregory Hofmann$^‡$ | 24 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +6 | 8 |
| Gabriel Carlsson | 38 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +6 | 10 |
| Emil Bemstrom | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | -1 | 4 |
| Brendan Gaunce | 30 | 5 | 2 | 7 | +2 | 12 |
| Trey Fix-Wolansky | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –1 | 0 |
| Jake Christiansen | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Scott Harrington | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 6 |
| Kevin Stenlund | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Liam Foudy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Nick Blankenburg | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -3 | 4 |
| Kent Johnson | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +2 | 2 |
| Carson Meyer | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Elvis Merzlikins | 59 | 56 | 3320:07 | 27 | 23 | 7 | 178 | 3.22 | 1,742 | .907 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Joonas Korpisalo | 22 | 17 | 1128:29 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 78 | 4.15 | 634 | .877 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jean-Francois Berube | 6 | 6 | 305:53 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 4.12 | 209 | .900 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Daniil Tarasov | 4 | 3 | 174:51 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2.40 | 111 | .937 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Blue Jackets. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Transactions

The Blue Jackets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.
Key:
† Contract is entry-level.
‡ Contract initially takes effect in the 2022-23 NHL season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) | To Chicago BlackhawksSeth Jones TBL 1st-round pick in 2021 6th-round pick in 2022 | To Columbus Blue JacketsAdam Boqvist 1st-round pick in 2021 2nd-round pick in 2021 conditional 1st-round pick in 2022 or 2023$^1$ |
| July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) | To Carolina HurricanesCHI 2nd-round pick in 2021 | To Columbus Blue JacketsJake Bean |
| July 24, 2021 (2021-07-24) | To Philadelphia FlyersCam Atkinson | To Columbus Blue JacketsJakub Voracek |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Carolina HurricanesMax Domi Tyler Inamoto | To Columbus Blue JacketsAidan Hreschuk |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Florida PanthersYegor Korshkov TOR 6th-round pick in 2022 | |
| June 30, 2022 (2022-06-30) | To Nashville PredatorsTOR 4th-round pick in 2022 | To Columbus Blue JacketsMathieu Olivier |
Notes:
* Columbus would receive Chicago's 1st-round pick in 2022 if the pick was outside the top 2, otherwise Columbus would receive Chicago's 1st-round pick in 2023. As Chicago's pick was outside the top 2 selections, Columbus received Chicago's 2022 1st-round pick.

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Gavin Bayreuther | Seattle Kraken | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Sean Kuraly | Boston Bruins | 4-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Tyler Sikura | Cleveland Monsters (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 30, 2021 (2021-07-30) | Brendan Gaunce | Växjö Lakers (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 13, 2021 (2021-08-13) | Zac Rinaldo | Calgary Flames | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 30, 2021 (2021-09-30) | Jean-Francois Berube | Ontario Reign (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| February 20, 2022 (2022-02-20) | Jet Greaves | Cleveland Monsters (AHL) | 3-year† | Free agency |
| March 7, 2022 (2022-03-07) | Billy Sweezey | Cleveland Monsters (AHL) | 2-year† | Free agency |
| April 8, 2022 (2022-04-08) | Nick Blankenburg | Michigan Wolverines (B1G) | 1-year† | Free agency |
| May 24, 2022 (2022-05-24) | Marcus Bjork | Brynäs IF (SHL) | 2-year†‡ | Free agency |
| June 1, 2022 (2022-06-01) | Joona Luoto | Tappara (Liiga) | 1-year†‡ | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 21, 2021 (2021-07-21) | Gavin Bayreuther | Seattle Kraken | | Expansion draft |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Adam Clendening | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Michael Del Zotto | Ottawa Senators | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Kole Sherwood | Ottawa Senators | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 30, 2021 (2021-07-30) | Zac Dalpe | Florida Panthers | 2-year | Free agency |
| October 7, 2021 (2021-10-07) | Cliff Pu | Kunlun Red Star (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 12, 2021 (2021-10-12) | Mikko Lehtonen | | | Contract termination |
| October 17, 2021 (2021-10-17) | Mikko Lehtonen | SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL) | 4-year | Free agency |
| January 11, 2022 (2022-01-11) | Gregory Hofmann | EV Zug (NL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| January 13, 2022 (2022-01-13) | Gregory Hofmann | | | Contract termination |
| June 1, 2022 (2022-06-01) | Dean Kukan | ZSC Lions (NL) | 5-year‡ | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Boone Jenner | 4-year‡ |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Patrik Laine | 1-year |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Eric Robinson | 2-year‡ |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Alexandre Texier | 2-year |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Jake Bean | 3-year |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Zach Werenski | 6-year‡ |
| July 30, 2021 (2021-07-30) | Mikko Lehtonen | 1-year |
| August 13, 2021 (2021-08-13) | Stanislav Svozil | 3-year† |
| August 16, 2021 (2021-08-16) | Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm | 3-year† |
| August 18, 2021 (2021-08-18) | Cole Sillinger | 3-year† |
| September 21, 2021 (2021-09-21) | Elvis Merzlikins | 5-year‡ |
| March 8, 2022 (2022-03-08) | Justin Danforth | 2-year‡ |
| April 8, 2022 (2022-04-08) | Kent Johnson | 3-year† |
| May 2, 2022 (2022-05-02) | Kirill Marchenko | 2-year†‡ |
| May 5, 2022 (2022-05-05) | Mikael Pyyhtia | 3-year†‡ |
| May 20, 2022 (2022-05-20) | Joonas Korpisalo | 1-year‡ |
| June 7, 2022 (2022-06-07) | Jack Roslovic | 2-year‡ |
| June 15, 2022 (2022-06-15) | Daniil Tarasov | 3-year‡ |
| June 17, 2022 (2022-06-17) | Liam Foudy | 2-year‡ |
| June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) | Brendan Gaunce | 2-year‡ |
| July 1, 2022 (2022-07-01) | Josh Dunne | 1-year‡ |
| July 2, 2022 (2022-07-02) | Carson Meyer | 1-year‡ |
| July 6, 2022 (2022-07-06) | Adam Boqvist | 3-year‡ |

## Draft picks

Below are the Columbus Blue Jackets' selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which were held on July 23 to 24, 2021. It was held virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.
| Round | # | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Kent Johnson | C | Canada | Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten) |
| 1 | 12 | Cole Sillinger | C | Canada | Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) |
| 1 | 25 | Corson Ceulemans | D | Canada | Brooks Bandits (AJHL) |
| 3 | 69 | Stanislav Svozil | D | Czech Republic | HC Kometa Brno (ELH) |
| 4 | 101 | Guillaume Richard | D | Canada | Tri-City Storm (USHL) |
| 5 | 132 | Nikolai Makarov | D | Russia | Krasnaya Armiya (MHL) |
| 5 | 133 | James Malatesta | C | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 165 | Ben Boyd | C | Canada | Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 197 | Martin Rysavy | LW | Czech Republic | HC Vítkovice Ridera (ELH) |