The 2026 Stanley Cup Final will feature 5 former CBJ players and a former head coach.
The 2026 Stanley Cup Final will feature two more former Columbus Blue Jackets.
First up is 30-year-old Eric Robinson of Bellmawr, New Jersey. Robinson was undrafted and signed with the Blue Jackets in 2018 after spending four years at Princeton.
After playing 266 games and recording 82 points for Columbus, he was traded to Buffalo by Columbus for a conditional pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, December 6, 2023. He then signed with Carolina as a free agent on July 1, 2024.
In this year's playoffs, he's played 13 games and has 6 points. In his two seasons with the Hurricanes, he's played in 38 games and has 10 points.
Former CBJ draft pick in 2011, Mike Reilly will also be on the Canes roster for Cup Final. He has played in 2 games and has 2 points.
Reilly famously refused to sign with the Blue Jackets in 2015, instead choosing free agency. He signed with Minnesota; the team his father was a minority owner of at the time.
Reilly has now played for 7 NHL teams since 2015.
Robinson and Reilly will be going up against Brandon Saad, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, and John Tortorella, who are all ex-Blue Jackets.
Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft is on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, where the CBJ will own pick #14.
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