Blue Jackets News & Rumors: Schedule Release, Tuch Signs & More – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

Summer is in full force. The middle of July is the time most in the hockey world are doing the balancing act of enjoying their summer while staying close to their device of choice in case any news breaks.

That is especially true for fans of the Columbus Blue Jackets. With so much still left to be settled, including new contracts, potential other moves, TV plans and more, news could happen at any moment. Multi-tasking in this environment is quite the underrated skill.

Welcome back to Blue Jackets News & Rumors. In case you are new here, this is where we talk about the news of the week as well as rumors around the team and give you my reaction to them. During the summer, the plan is to publish on Friday to discuss anything that happened of note in the last seven days.

We begin today’s news with one of the biggest days of the calendar from a fan’s perspective: NHL Schedule Release Day.

2026-27 Blue Jackets Schedule

On Wednesday, the teams announced their home openers. On Thursday, the full schedule was released league wide.

The Blue Jackets will open the 2026-27 season on Oct 1 at home against the Buffalo Sabres. Home is a main theme at the start of the season as they’ll be at Nationwide Arena a lot.

During the first four full weeks of the season, the Blue Jackets will play seven of their first nine games at home. That equates to two road games in 24 days in October.

From the start of the season until Nov 14, the Blue Jackets play 12 of their first 18 games in Nationwide Arena. It’s fair to say a good start in this part of the schedule will go a long way in determining how the season could go.

What else stood out in the Blue Jackets’ schedule?

• All teams now have an 84-game schedule. It marks the first time ever the Blue Jackets have had an 84-game schedule in their history.
• The Blue Jackets will play their division four times each (28 games), other members of the East three times each (24 games) and all members of the West twice each (32 games).
• The Blue Jackets longest homestand is five games from Feb 20-Mar 1. They will have four different road trips that are four games long (Nov 17-23, Nov 30-Dec 7, Jan 12-18 and Feb 13-18.)
• Former Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner makes his return to Nationwide Arena with the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Eve. Note the start time of 2 P.M. eastern.
• Mason Marchment returns with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday Mar 13.
• The Blue Jackets have 13 sets of back-to-back games this season. For reference, the Pittsburgh Penguins lead the league in this area with 15.
• Oct 13, 2026 and Apr 10, 2027 will be the two days that all 32 NHL teams play on the same day. The Blue Jackets host the Florida Panthers for Frozen Frenzy in October while they finish the season on the road against the New York Islanders in April. The last four games of the season are against the Metro.
• The Western Canada trip is Jan 12-18 where it’s Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and then Seattle. In February, the Blue Jackets travel to Colorado, Utah and then Vegas Feb 15-18. The California trip runs from Mar 3-7 with San Jose, Los Angeles and then Anaheim.

Luke Tuch Signs

While we continue waiting for the outcomes of the RFAs, as of this writing, there is nothing new to report, the Blue Jackets did sign a recently acquired player to a new contract.

Luke Tuch, who was acquired by the Blue Jackets in a deal that saw them trade Hunter McKown to the Montreal Canadiens, signed a two-year, two-way deal. Luke is the younger brother of Washington Capitals’ Alex Tuch.

In his first two full AHL seasons for the Laval Rocket, Tuch recorded 15 goals and 28 points in 114 games. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 219 pounds, he will bring size and depth to the Cleveland Monsters. Here is what GM Don Waddell said about Tuch right after the trade was announced.

“Luke is a big, physical player with great character and a strong work ethic who adds size, strength and toughness to our organizational depth at the forward position.”

Given some questions about who might make the Blue Jackets out of training camp, Cleveland’s depth needed to be addressed. As seems to be standard with Waddell, he brought in a bigger, physical presence in Tuch who should help mold the kind of identity the Monsters want to play with.

Side Dishes

• Fans have been asking of late about the TV situation for the Blue Jackets. There is nothing new to report from our last report that the team is down to 2-3 options and are still considering which direction to go. The team remains confident something will be in place before the season starts.
• We already mentioned nothing new to report on the RFA’s although one phone call could change everything. We are also still awaiting further word on the status of Isac Lundestrom. His length of absence will be determined by the testing results the team gets back.
• Should we get anything new on the above, we will pass along as we get it.
• Former Blue Jackets’ President of Hockey Operations John Davidson has been hired by the Buffalo Sabres as a senior advisor. It marks the third time that Davidson and Jarmo Kekalainen have worked together with the other times being with the Blue Jackets and St. Louis Blues. Davidson had been living in Florida while having a lesser role with the Blue Jackets. He occasionally appeared in the broadcast booth when Jody Shelley was working on Amazon Monday night hockey in Canada. The Sabres these days have a lot of Blue Jackets’ connections if you consider that Josh Flynn is on staff there.
• Lastly, former Blue Jacket Matt Calvert was hired by the Nashville Predators on Friday as a forward development coach. According to the press release, Calvert’s role is that he will assist Predators Assistant General Manager, Milwaukee Admirals General Manager and Director of Player Development Scott Nichol in following and evaluating forward prospects drafted and signed by Nashville, helping them with their maturation process into NHL players by focusing on nutrition, off-ice workouts and conditioning, practice habits and game performance. This isn’t much of a surprise in hindsight if you consider that former Blue Jackets’ AGM Chris MacFarland made this hire. Calvert played for the Blue Jackets and Avalanche while MacFarland was with both teams.