What a Summer: The Blue Jackets Roundtable With Porty, Arace and Svoboda

Norris Trophy. Vetoed trade. Camp holdout. Retiring president. A six-player blockbuster two days before the opener. And it might not be over.

Bob McElligott opens the 2026-27 season with a roundtable: Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Michael Arace of The Disrespected, and Jeff Svoboda, formerly the Jackets Insider and now a free agent.

In this episode:

• Why Arace calls the Marchenko trade a coup, and why the team that gets the best player doesn't always win the deal• Jeff on Marchenko's heel turn, and the press conference that made it easier for fans and teammates to let go• Should fans boo on October 20? Rick Nash got booed. So did Sergei Fedorov.• Merzlikins gets a timeline within 24 hours of leaving• Why Toronto moved Matthew Knies, and why getting out of that pressure cooker might be the best thing for him• Emil Andrae: 5-foot-9, 195 pounds and headed for the third pair• Fantilli's six-year deal and a September that may be a watershed moment in team history• A cycling team now: size, Lomberg's mouth, and who drives play without Marchenko• Kent Johnson, Connor Garland, Cole Sillinger and the bets this team is making• "First ballot" Denton Mateychuk, and why Waddell should be walking an extension down the hall• Jet Greaves, Cam Talbot and a drama-free goalie corner• Why picking Columbus last in the Metro is insane• Opening night against Buffalo, a shootout lineup, and Knies vs. Cutter Gauthier• Valeri Nichushkin, maybe the most underrated move of the NHL offseason• A 71-year-old coach on a one-year deal, and whether there will be a captain at all• The lightning round: points, playoffs, leading scorer, Greaves' save percentage and bold predictions

The Blue Jackets open Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres. Bobby Mac & Porty are back Friday.