As we discussed a few times during the season here at Union & Blue, the Blue Jackets faced difficulties with their third-pairing defensemen during the 2025-2026 campaign. The bottom two on both sides were a revolving door on the lineup card most nights. Yegor Zamula, Jake Christiansen, Brendan Smith, Erik Gudbranson, and Dante Fabbro are just a handful of the names that rotated in and out of those two spots in the lineup for the Jackets.
Jake Christiansen looked like the heir apparent to the left-shot third-pairing role coming into the season, and his versatility to play both sides gave me the impression that he’d be a solidified part of the lineup moving into this season. But that didn’t come to pass.
Christiansen was a healthy scratch for much of the first half of the season under Dean Evason, and saw much the same when Rick Bowness took over as the team’s head coach. He regretfully struggled to carve out any real spot in the lineup night in and night out, and the lack of confidence the coaching staff had in his ability really showed.
Christiansen played in just 40 games this season despite being healthy, putting up a measly 0-3-3 line, -7, and averaging just 10 minutes a night, the lowest total since his rookie season. His advanced statistics tell much the same story.
He was middle of the pack on the Columbus Blue Jackets roster for key defensive statistics like Expected Goals against per 60 (2.85), On-Ice shot attempts against per 60 (60.02), and On-Ice High Danger shot attempts against per 60 (2.84).
The pairing of Jake and Dante Fabbro posted an expected Goals % of 41.5%, a team low among all mainstay defensive pairings that played at least 150 minutes together. For a player slated for a role at the bottom of the lineup, Christiansen needed to do more to stand out, and both sets of coaching staffs this season seemed to feel he did not.
What happens next?
Jake has another year on the extension he signed during the middle of the season a year ago, but whether he completes his time in Columbus on that deal or ends up elsewhere is the question for him heading into this summer. After having fallen out of favor with two separate coaching staffs, the unfortunate likelihood of him departing Columbus via trade, buyout, or waivers is a distinct possibility heading into next season.