The Blue Jackets signed defenseman Guillaume Richard to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2025-26 season, the team announced. The rearguard is coming off his senior season at Providence College and was going to become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15 if not signed. Richard’s deal carries a cap hit of $867.5K and pays him a $775K NHL salary, $92.5K signing bonus, and $57.5K games played bonus each season, PuckPedia reports.
Richard, a 2021 fourth-round pick, has been a steady contributor on the Providence blue line over the last four seasons. A defensive-minded D-man with good puck skills, he totaled 9-45–54 with 73 PIMs and a +24 rating across 139 games for the Friars. This year, he served as an alternate captain and tied for the team lead in scoring among blue-liners.
He doesn’t crack the top 15 in a loaded Columbus prospect pool (Scott Wheeler of The Athletic), but the organization evidently likes his tools enough and hopes he can be a bottom-pairing piece someday. That likely won’t be as soon as next season, but he should be in contention for a heavy workload on the farm with AHL Cleveland. The 6’2″ lefty will have a couple of years to prove he’s on the right track developmentally before potentially reaching restricted free agency in 2027.
The Quebec City native becomes the 31st player under contract for Columbus next season, leaving them with 19 open spots. They have 24 pending free agents in the organization, so a good portion of them won’t be coming back. It’s worth noting the Jackets are at the 50-contract limit for this year, so they didn’t have the option to sign Richard to a contract that begins immediately.