Penguins Conference Rivals Attempting to Make Major Splash this Offseason

The summer work began early for clubs like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets, neither of which qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and had to watch from home.

The Blue Jackets flirted with a postseason spot and appeared to be on their way to ending their playoff drought in the aftermath of their dramatic victory at Ohio Stadium over the Detroit Red Wings in early March in front of nearly 100,000 fans.

However, they would start struggling again in March and didn't pick up enough points to be one of the last teams standing, missing the postseason once again. They haven't qualified since 2020 when they took part in the "bubble" in Toronto.

They appear intent on changing that this summer, and could be a team to look out for to try and make a major splash, per a new report from Elliotte Friedman.

The Blue Jackets could potentially be considered dark-horse candidates to land either Mitch Marner or John Tavares from the Toronto Maple Leafs, both of whom are pending UFAs.

Could they also potentially be in on any of the notable UFAs of the Florida Panthers, including Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad?

The Blue Jackets made multiple moves last offseason to try and offset the shocking and tragic loss of Johnny Gaudreau, signing both James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Labanc.

Now, it appears as though the Blue Jackets are set for something far bigger to try and improve their chances of returning to the postseason.