The Columbus Blue Jackets are about to kick their offseason into high gear. With the NHL Combine in Buffalo over, they can turn their attention to final preparations before the NHL Draft in Los Angeles which is now just 16 days away. Then before they know it, the free agency period will be open.
Welcome back to Blue Jackets’ News & Rumors. Before we dive into what could be going on this offseason, we look back at an emotional win that he didn’t see coming.
Monahan Wins Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The NHL will still have an awards show. That will take place on June 12 in advance of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at 6 P.M. eastern. However, there has been a major change in how some awards have been announced.
In an effort to be more creative with their presentation, the NHL has released videos of winners being surprised with their respective award. In the case of Sean Monahan, there was not a dry eye to be found after watching him win the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Johnny Gaudreau’s wife, Meredith, surprised Sean Monahan with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. 💙
Watch the #NHLAwards on June 12 at 6p ET on @NHL_On_TNT and @Sportsnet before Game 4 of the #StanleyCup Final. pic.twitter.com/njj3I7YptA
— NHL (@NHL) June 5, 2025
Meredith Gaudreau surprised Monahan and presented him with the trophy at his house in Toronto. He played the 2024-25 season with the heaviest of hearts after losing his best friend Johnny Gaudreau in August.
For Monahan, this moment will last a lifetime. He was there on numerous occasions throughout the season for the Gaudreau family especially on nights when there was a tribute to the Gaudreau brothers. Meredith couldn’t wait to deliver this surprise as it was a celebration of who Monahan the person was.
“Having Meredith here to present it to me is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Monahan said.
“You persevered through one of the hardest things and you lead by example and this one’s celebrating your character and how good of a person you are. I know John is so proud of you,” Meredith said.
In order for this surprise to come together, Meredith told Sean’s wife Brittany a few days in advance. Brittany then proceeded to trick Sean into thinking they were taking family photos.
Monahan had no idea this was coming.
“I had no idea. I was waiting around all dressed up for a while because I was told we were doing family photos,” Monahan said. “It was presented in a special way. They did a great job to surprise me.”
Sean Monahan won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Monahan received 75 first-place votes on way to his win. Gabriel Landeskog received 58 first-place votes followed by Marc-Andre Fleury with 32 first-place votes. In all, 17 different players received at least one first-place vote.
The Masterton is given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Monahan admitted early in the season he almost gave up on hockey. He used this season to not only honor the Gaudreau’s, he was a leader and mentor inside the Blue Jackets’ locker room.
Indeed, as Meredith said, John would have been so proud.
Blue Jackets & Marner
All indications point to Toronto Maple Leafs’ star Mitch Marner testing free agency. According to one report, the Blue Jackets could be involved.
According to the Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, the Blue Jackets are expected to pursue Marner, but they’ll have plenty of competition. (From Could Blue Jackets pursue Mitch Marner via free agency? They’ve tried before, The Athletic, Aaron Portzline, 6/10/2025)
It’s not often 100-point players become available on the open market. It would make sense for 31 other teams to at least explore the possibility. The question to consider here is does it make sense for the Blue Jackets to pursue Marner?
There’s no question the Blue Jackets have the needed cap space on hand if things get serious enough. It would likely take him being made one of the highest paid players in the NHL to make it happen.
Adding Marner to the top-six would turn an already exciting offense into an elite one. The Blue Jackets could boast the 3M line in that situation with Marner playing with Monahan and Kirill Marchenko. Then Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson could be their high-upside second line with the rest of the roster shaking down from there.
Here’s where there would be significant questions. The Blue Jackets have to consider if it’s the best use of their cap space. There is no question adding Marner would make them better. However, they have other glaring holes on their roster. Ideally, they’d like to address the defense and goaltending.
Mitch Marner would lead to a domino effect on the roster if he is signed. (Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)
If it takes paying Marner one of the highest cap hits in the league, they could do it. The consideration here is that the Blue Jackets can’t spend every penny they have. They have their own to take care of in short order. They need to ensure they have enough space to keep their young core together. Fantilli, Monahan and Cole Sillinger will all get significant raises. Zach Werenski will soon need a new contract that will likely exceed $10 million.
The Blue Jackets will have to decide what is the best way to use their cap space. The reason they missed out just barely on the playoffs was goals against. We’ll see what happens with Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro. If both come back, that likely costs them over $10 per season total.
The other consideration is what does Marner want in all of this? Rumors are flying he’d want to join a place like Vegas or Florida. We’ll ultimately see what his desires are. But he would need to express an interest in coming to Columbus. We just don’t know if they’re on his consideration list.
If Marner does eventually say he wants to sign with the Blue Jackets, expect to see a domino effect of other moves in order to make it happen. The one thing we can say for certain? GM Don Waddell will consider all options in order for his team to be in the playoffs next season. Marner would be a huge add. But they must consider all ramifications if they do make a serious pursuit of him.
Side Dishes
Coming out of the Combine, I really didn’t hear the Blue Jackets much in the “rumor mill.” Make no mistake. They are capable of making a big move this offseason. A willingness to trade both their first rounders in the right deal signals that.
News story to watch? The goalies. Do the Blue Jackets really want to enter 2025-26 with three goalies who would all need waivers?
If I had a penny to bet, I would expect the Blue Jackets to pick one player and trade their other pick. Waddell said there were talks at the trade deadline that would pick back up now. There will certainly be effort. It’s just a matter if anything can cross the finish line.
As I said in my Combine notebook, Blake Fiddler had lunch with the Blue Jackets. At 6-foot-4 and over 220 pounds as a right-shot defenseman, that’s a perfect fit given what the organizational depth needs. And don’t rule out a goalie either. They do like Joshua Ravensbergen.
Remember that with the de-centralized draft, teams will stay in their local market. We should be meeting with Waddell for a predraft availability soon. We’ll share details once that is known.