COLUMBUS, Ohio — By finishing two points out of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets left themselves open to all manner of “would have” and “should have” laments. But there were two glaring areas in which they knew they must improve.

The Blue Jackets won just 14 road games (14-23-4), and only 10 of those wins came in regulation. It essentially wiped out the gains they made in Nationwide Arena, where they had one of the better home records in the league (26-10-5).

The other bugaboo was a little less obvious, but even more dramatic. The Blue Jackets had 12 back-to-backs on their schedule last season — a manageable number — but they went just 2-10 in the second games, the worst record in franchise history.

The NHL released its regular-season schedule Wednesday. Now the Blue Jackets know what their marching orders are — better performances in uncomfortable settings (the road) and when the legs are weary (back-to-backs) — and those will likely be a theme from the start of training camp and well into the season.

First to the nuts and bolts of the schedule:

The Blue Jackets, who are celebrating their 25th season in the league, open the campaign on Oct. 9 at Nashville. They’ll play another road game, Oct. 11 in Minnesota, before they return to Columbus for the home opener against the New Jersey Devils in Nationwide Arena. This marks the second straight season they’ve opened with two on the road.
The longest homestand is a five-game set in late January, when the Blue Jackets host Ottawa (Jan. 20), Dallas (Jan. 22), Tampa Bay (Jan. 24), Los Angeles (Jan. 26), and Philadelphia (Jan. 28). They also have a four-game homestand in December.
The longest road trip is a five-game set in early November. The Blue Jackets will play at the New York Islanders on Nov. 2, then head west to play Calgary (Nov. 5), Vancouver (Nov. 8), Edmonton (Nov. 10), and Seattle (Nov. 11). They also have a four-game trip later in November, and another in early January.
The Jackets will play four games against five of their Metropolitan Division rivals: Carolina, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh, and Washington. They’ll play only three games against the remaining two Metro clubs, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia.
Scheduling oddity here: the Blue Jackets play only three games all season on Fridays: Oct. 24 vs. Washington and Nov. 28 vs. Pittsburgh in Nationwide Arena, and Jan. 30 at Chicago. They play 22 games on Saturdays and 17 each on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Blue Jackets will go dark from Feb. 5 to Feb. 25 while the NHL pauses for the Winter Olympics. The Jackets’ last game before the break will be Feb. 4 vs. Chicago at home. They’ll return from the break on Feb. 26 with a game in Boston.
That midseason break will be well-timed, too. The Blue Jackets will play 18 games in 32 days before the break, then come out of the break with 25 games in 47 days to finish the season.
The Blue Jackets end the season with two home games: April 12 vs. Boston and April 14 vs. Washington.

It all began October 2000.

Full send, pure chaos and always ready to take the hit. THIS is the 25th season schedule release! 💥

Download the full schedule ➡️ https://t.co/Fgv5yV64AQ@Ticketmaster | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/SPZTP5GDiP

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 16, 2025

The Blue Jackets were one of the youngest teams in the league last season, and it’s hoped that the tough lessons learned on the road in 2024-25 — they had an 0-5-2 stretch (Oct. 26 to Nov. 16) and a 1-6-1 skid (Dec. 3-28) — will benefit them in the long run.

The Blue Jackets have more back-to-backs on their schedule this season (15) than they did a year ago, but there’s a key difference, and it’s one that was actually requested of the league by the Blue Jackets.

GM Don Waddell said the Blue Jackets put in a request with the league’s schedule-makers that they have some second games in Nationwide. They got their wish on four of the “second” games:

Oct. 29 vs. Toronto, after playing Buffalo a night earlier
Jan. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, after hosting Buffalo the previous day
Feb. 4 vs. Chicago, after playing in New Jersey
March 3 vs. Nashville, after playing at the New York Rangers

Other than adding depth forward Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood and Isac Lundestrom, the Blue Jackets are mostly running back the club that was one of the biggest surprises last season. They won the final six games of the season and finished 40-33-9 (89 points), the most wins and points since the 2018-19 season.

(Photo of Sean Monahan and Andreas Englund: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)