Blue Jackets, Sean Monahan Agree To Terms On Five-Year Deal

The Blue Jackets are signing center Sean Monahan to a five-year deal worth $5.5MM per season, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports. The team later made the deal official.

Monahan, 29, gets a solid chunk of stability after persevering through a multitude of injury-plagued campaigns and re-solidifying himself as a top-six center this season. After recording just 40 points in 90 games across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Monahan rebounded for 26 goals and 59 points in 83 games last year split between the Canadiens and Jets.

He was a great fit in Winnipeg after they picked him up from Montreal via trade, anchoring their second line behind Mark Scheifele and providing important secondary scoring with 13 goals in 34 games. Most believed there was a good chance of him sticking around with the Jets, but after he was limited to one assist in five playoff games in their first-round loss to the Avalanche, he’s moving east to the Blue Jackets.

In Columbus, Monahan has the chance to reunite with longtime Flames teammate Johnny Gaudreau on his wing in a top-six role. Monahan’s career-defining season came with Gaudreau on his wing in Calgary in 2018-19, helping him to a career-high 34 goals and 82 points.

Expecting Monahan to rediscover that kind of scoring is unlikely, especially with Gaudreau undergoing a difficult run since signing with the Jackets (just 12 goals and 60 points in 81 games last year). But giving him potential first-line minutes should give GM Don Waddell a solid return on his investment, even if five years of term is a tad steep for a player with a significant recent injury history.

Monahan should give some insulation and flexibility to Columbus’ developing core of young forwards, namely allowing Adam Fantilli to occupy a more comfortable secondary role in 2024-25 after missing a solid chunk of his rookie year due to a calf laceration.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.