When the Columbus Blue Jackets signed UFA Isac Lundeström this offseason, it wasn’t with the expectation that he’d light up the scoreboard. Instead, General Manager Don Waddell and head coach Dean Evason view the 25-year-old Swede as a quietly effective, detail-oriented center who can anchor the bottom six, kill penalties, and tilt the ice in subtle but meaningful ways.
Lundeström arrives in Columbus after spending the length of his professional career with the Anaheim Ducks, where he established a reputation as a defensively responsible center with flashes of secondary scoring. His best NHL season came in 2021–22, when he posted 16 goals and 29 points in 80 games — production that hinted at untapped offensive upside.