Mathieu Olivier’s Blue Jackets Leadership Role Is Under Pressure After Costly Decisions
Olivier brings value to Columbus, but several early-season penalties raise questions about whether he should keep wearing an “A.”
Mathieu Olivier has a place on the Columbus Blue Jackets roster. Whether he should keep a rotating alternate captain’s “A” is a separate question, and his first five games have made that harder to answer in his favor. His physical play can give Columbus an edge, but several avoidable decisions have put the team in difficult spots when it needed composure.
That distinction matters this season. Boone Jenner was not re-signed in the offseason, leaving Columbus without a captain, and head coach Rick Bowness opted against naming one for 2026-27. Instead, the club is rotating the alternate captain designation among Zach Werenski, Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle, Sean Monahan and Olivier. All five can contribute in different ways. The question is whether Olivier’s choices on the ice match the responsibility attached to the letter.
A pattern worth addressing
The concern isn’t one penalty viewed in isolation. It’s the timing and potential cost of a series of decisions, each of which gave an opponent an opening or removed Olivier from the game. A player can bring energy and toughness without turning every flashpoint into a confrontation. For someone wearing an “A,” knowing when to disengage is part of leading, especially when the score makes discipline valuable.
Against Buffalo on Oct. 1, with Columbus holding a 3-2 lead, Olivier put the puck in the net after the whistle and then went after Zach Metsa. He received an unsportsmanlike penalty. The infraction did not lead to a goal, but the situation called for protecting a narrow advantage. The play offered little benefit to Columbus and created a needless chance for the game to swing.
On Oct. 10, the Blue Jackets were trailing St. Louis 2-0 when Olivier fought Ross Johnston near the start of the second period. St. Louis went on to score three times in that period, and Columbus lost 5-3. The fight alone didn’t decide the game; the Blues’ scoring run and Columbus’ wider second-period problems did that. Still, the timing is difficult to defend. Columbus needed to close the gap, and Olivier’s fight did not help the team regain control.
The Florida game on Oct. 13 brought a more direct consequence. With Columbus down 3-1, Olivier speared Uvis Balinskis and received a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Florida scored on the ensuing power play; that goal stood as the game winner. Olivier was also out for the rest of the contest, and Player Safety later fined him $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing Balinskis.
Those episodes aren’t proof that Olivier caused the losses. Hockey games turn on far more than one player’s discipline, and the Blue Jackets still had to manage the rest of each contest. But the team can’t get value from a player who is in the penalty box or has been removed from a game. At a moment when Columbus needs contributors to steady play, these choices have instead offered opponents extra room to build momentum.
What the “A” should represent
An alternate captain doesn’t need to be the team’s quietest player or avoid physical play. Olivier’s edge may be part of what makes him useful to the Blue Jackets. But a leadership role asks for judgment alongside intensity: reading the score, recognizing when a response could hurt the team, and staying available to help shift the game. The best show of toughness can be refusing to take the bait.
My read is that Columbus should take the “A” off Olivier for now. That’s a judgment about his early-season decisions, not a verdict on his worth as a player or teammate. The rotating structure gives Bowness room to assign the responsibility differently while Olivier works to show that he can bring his physical game without adding preventable penalties or losing time on the ice.
There’s a clear path back. Olivier can make smarter choices in heated moments, keep his focus on the next shift and show that his energy serves the Blue Jackets’ needs. If he does that consistently, he can make a strong case to wear an “A” again. Until then, Columbus has several other players in the leadership group, and the early evidence points toward giving one of them the responsibility.
