Columbus Blue Jackets' forward's down year is trade leverage, not a flaw

He put 123 pucks on net in 2024-25 and 114 in 2025-26. What collapsed was his shooting percentage, which fell from 19.5 to 6.1.

The rumor cycle has decided this makes him a buy-low target at a $1.8 million cap hit, with Columbus supposedly willing to listen.

That framing skips the part where the Blue Jackets have no reason to sell.

Johnson's underlying play never cratered. He finished with a 52.0 Corsi-for percentage and a 50.0 expected goals share, both above water.

A 19.5 percent shooting season was never repeatable. A 6.1 percent season is just as fake in the opposite direction, and his career rate sits between the two.

Bowness offered a physical explanation as well, saying Johnson needs to add 10 to 12 pounds this summer.

That is a coach describing a fixable problem, not a finished player.

Johnson is signed through 2026-27 and becomes a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027.

His next contract gets negotiated against 22 points, not 57.

A repeat 24-goal season would have cost Don Waddell real money. Seven goals buys him a cheap bridge deal on a 23-year-old first-rounder who was the most creative forward on his roster.

Waddell said as much publicly, and he said Columbus does not hand away players this age.

Every team calling about a discount is asking the Blue Jackets to surrender the discount they just earned.

Columbus finished 40-30-12 with 92 points and missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year.

They need Johnson's ceiling far more than they need someone else's second-round pick.

The window that closes fast here is not the trade window. It is the price window, and Columbus is standing on the right side of it.

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