Per NHL EDGE IQ, the Blue Jackets had the third-lowest average Projected Goal Rate (PGR) against (5.17 percent) this season at the time of the coaching change, indicating their defense is not allowing as many high-quality scoring chances compared to most of the League. But Bowness is tasked with improving Columbus’ penalty kill, which ranked fourth-worst in the NHL (76.4 percent) this season at the time of the coaching change, and inconsistent goaltending from Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins.

It’s worth noting Greaves finished last season on a five-game winning streak with a .975 save percentage and two shutouts in that span, giving him sneaky upside in the second half. This season, Greaves ranked 12th in 5-on-5 save percentage (.915; minimum 20 games) and had seven quality starts (greater than .900 save percentage) over his past nine at the time of the coaching change.

2. Shot metrics

One of the Blue Jackets’ strongest underlying trends this season at the time of the coaching change was that they rank fourth in the NHL in shots on goal per game (30.3). But they dropped from first in 5-on-5 goals last season to 12th (95) this season at the time of the coaching change and rank 21st in 5-on-5 shooting percentage (8.9).

Marchenko, another EDGE standout, ranked among the forward leaders in midrange shots on goal (53; 98th percentile) and average shot speed (58.24 mph; 85th percentile) this season at the time of the coaching change. Like Werenski, Marchenko also ranked highly in midrange goals (nine; just outside NHL’s top 10; 97th percentile among forwards) this season at the time of the coaching change. The Blue Jackets, as a team, ranked fifth in midrange shots on goal (401) but were only 16th in midrange goals (42) this season at the time of the coaching change, a specific area of potential improvement under Bowness.

3. Skating speed

Columbus ranked in the NHL’s top 10 in both 22-plus mph speed bursts (71; sixth) and 20-plus mph speed bursts (1,147; eighth) this season at the time of the coaching change, led by Werenski’s aforementioned ranks in speed categories. Per NHL EDGE IQ, the Blue Jackets have one of the best transition offenses with the third-most inferenced shot attempts off the rush per game (18.6) behind the Anaheim Ducks (19.6) and Carolina Hurricanes (19.4). NHL EDGE IQ defines shots off the rush as shots that occur within five seconds of the puck crossing the offensive blue line; inferenced shot attempts exclude shots over 60 feet from goal, below the goal line or against an empty net.

Of Marchenko’s 16 goals this season at the time of the coaching change, 11 have been goals off the rush, the second most in the NHL behind Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (15). Fantilli, the No. 3 pick in 2023 NHL Draft, scored a career-high 31 goals last season (tied with Marchenko for most on Blue Jackets) but has seen his shooting percentage dip from 16.2 last season to 10.0 this season at the time of the coaching change. In terms of max skating speed, Fantilli (23.39 mph; 96th percentile) and Marchenko (23.36; 95th percentile) were among the fastest forwards at the time of the coaching change.