Coyle was drafted 28th overall in the 2010 draft by the San Jose Sharks.
When the Columbus Blue Jackets traded young forward Gavin Brindley to the Colorado Avalanche last summer for Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood, many fans were very upset that Don Waddell would trade the diminutive Brindley for the pair of forwards.
In an interview with a Columbus radio station, he was asked why he made the decision to trade Brindley specifically. His answer? "We had too many smaller players." It was 100% the right decision in my opinion, and I had that opinion before Coyle and Wood played a single game for Columbus.
Charlie Coyle is who we're going to talk about today, and he was absolutely outstanding for the CBJ this past season.
Let's take a look at the stats for Charlie Coyle.
Contract Status - Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1.
Games Played - 82 - Played all 82 games for the 5th time in his career.
Goals - 20 - He scored 20 goals in a season for only the third time in his career (25 in 2023-24 with Boston & 21 in 2015-16 with Minnesota). He had 7 power play goals which tied his career high.
Assists - 38 - He tied his career high in assists that he set in 2017.
Points - 58 - Finished just two points shy of his career high set in 22-23 with Boston. Up from 35 in 2024-25.
Shots - 144 - 5th highest of his career and up from 115 the previous year.
Shooting % - 13.9% - Down from 14.8% last season.
Time On Ice - 18:06 - Set a career high in TOI by 2 seconds.
Game Winning Goals - 3 - He had 3 in 24-25.
Plus/Minus - Plus-3 - 6th highest of his career.
Hits - 111 - 4th highest of his career.
Giveaways - 53 - The second most of his career by 1. He had 54 in 2024-25.
Looking at some advanced stats like Corsi and Fenwick, Coyle's were substantially lower that what he's used to.
His Corsi % was at 48.9%, which is the 12th lowest of his career. His Fenwick was 48.7%, which was also the 12th lowest of his career.
Charlie Coyle was arguably the best forward for the CBJ this past season. Don Waddell has said publicly that he wants to re-sign the 1000-game veteran to a new deal. Rumors are that Coyle and his camp might be interested in coming back if Rick Bowness is re-signed. Well, Bowness is back, so hopefully Coyle sticks to his words and considers the Blue Jackets.
Charlie Coyle might not have the same productive season for the Blue Jackets that he had this past season, and fans need to be ready for that. But Coyle would bring the type of experience and leadership this teams needs to take the next step.
Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft Lottery on May 5, 2025, where the CBJ will most likely pick 14 or 15.
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