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NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A new era is about to begin for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After finishing last in the Eastern Conference last season with 66 points (27-43-12), the Blue Jackets made a number of key changes this offseason, both on and off the ice.

The first of those came on May 28, when Don Waddell was hired as president of hockey operations and general manager. He replaced Jarmo Kekalainen, who was fired on Feb. 15 after 11 years.

During free agency, Columbus signed center Sean Monahan to a five-year, $27.5 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value) on July 1, and defenseman Jack Johnson to a one-year, $775,000 contract two days later. Monahan, 29, had 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 83 games for the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets last season. Johnson, 37, had 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 80 games for the Colorado Avalanche.

Then on July 22, Waddell and the Blue Jackets hired Dean Evason as coach. The 59-year-old, who replaced Pascal Vincent, spent the previous five seasons as coach of the Minnesota Wild, who fired him on Nov. 27, 2023.

“The foundation is set here,” said Evason, who went 147-77-27 with the Wild. “It just needs to be built upon. That’s what our job is. That’s what Don and I believe we are going to accomplish to meet that ultimate goal.”

Monahan is expected to play on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau at left wing. The two previously played together for the Calgary Flames from 2014-22, and reuniting them may reinvigorate Gaudreau, who has 134 points (33 goals, 101 assists) in 161 games with Columbus the past two seasons after he had an NHL career-high 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games during his final season with the Flames in 2021-22.

Regardless of who he plays with, though, Monahan said his goal is to be a leader on the team.

“It’s important to have good leadership in the dressing room,” he said. “It creates a good culture, and I think I’m a guy that can serve that purpose.”

Behind Monahan at center could be Adam Fantilli, who was selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. But the 19-year-old, who had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 49 games as a rookie before his season was ended because of a calf laceration on Jan. 28, is just one of many young players Columbus could begin to rely on this season.

Forward Kent Johnson, who was selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, is one of them. The 21-year-old signed a three-year, $5.4 million contract ($1.8 million AAV) on July 27 after he had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 42 games last season, which was ended on Feb. 28 because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Kirill Marchenko, 24; Dmitri Voronkov, 23; Yegor Chinakhov, 23; and Cole Sillinger, 21, are also expected to take that next step. Marchenko, who signed a three-year, $11.55 million contract ($3.85 million AAV) on July 28, scored 23 goals last season after getting 21 as a rookie in 2022-23. Voronkov had 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) in 75 games as a rookie, and Chinakhov had 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) in 53 games. Sillinger, who is currently a restricted free agent, had 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) in 77 games, a marked improvement after he had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 64 games in 2022-23.

On defense, the Blue Jackets allowed Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist to leave as free agents, possibly opening the door for David Jiricek, 20, and Denton Mateychuk, 20.

Jiricek, who was selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, had 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 43 games as a rookie last season. Mateychuk, who was selected with the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft, won the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the Western Hockey League’s defenseman of the year last season.

“There’s a lot of good pieces here,” Waddell said. “The previous management has done a good job with drafting. There’s challenges, of course, that’s why they bring you in, but it’s not like this is an organization that’s going to take a long time to fix.”

Although some uncertainty remains surrounding forward Patrik Laine, who has reportedly requested a trade, the Blue Jackets are hoping the moves they made this offseason provide some stability, which in turn could help them return to the postseason for the first time since 2020.

“It’s like a machine, it’s hard to start and it’s hard to stop,” Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly said. “No matter who’s coming in and who’s going out, it takes a [heck] of a lot of work to get it going and build. It takes less (work) to keep it going than it does to start it.”