Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Blue Jackets.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Adam Fantilli – Fantilli’s third and final season of his entry-level contract marked something of a lateral move. Selected third overall in 2023, he’s yet to take over as the true #1 pivot Columbus has lacked for virtually its entire 26-year history. A late-season surge last year brought him to 31 goals as a sophomore, but his production plateaued this season with a 24-35–59 scoring line, only a five-point total increase from his 2024-25 performance as his shooting percentage regressed.
He’s averaging close to 19 minutes per game now, has improved in the faceoff dot, and is still the Jackets’ top center of the present and future, even if his production hasn’t really popped yet. It’ll be an interesting exercise to see whether GM Don Waddell is willing to pay for potential or make a more reserved offer, considering what he’s yet to show. AFP Analytics pegs a long-term deal at eight years and $10MM per season. It seems unlikely Fantilli would want to lock himself into that number, considering his growth potential and a rising cap, so their two-year bridge projection of $6.375MM annually seems more apt.
G Jet Greaves – Now 25, Greaves answered every question asked of him in his first season as a true starter. The undrafted free agent burst onto the scene as an exceptional third-string option over the past few years and was clearly ready for at least tandem duties with Elvis Merzļikins this season, but he ended up stealing the crease entirely from the beleaguered veteran. I
t’s hard to call him Columbus’ outright MVP considering what Zach Werenski did this season, but a 26-19-9 record, .908 SV%, and a top-10 finish in goals saved above expected (16.5, per MoneyPuck) are worthy of a hefty financial commitment to a netminder who’s yet to experience a real bump in the road in his development. Mid-term deals have been all the craze for breakout starters lately; something in the range of the six-year, $5.85MM AAV extension Logan Thompson signed with the Capitals last season is a reasonable starting point.
F Cole Sillinger – One of many high picks dotting Columbus’ forward group, Sillinger just wrapped up a two-year bridge deal that paid him $2.25MM per season. He’s due for a raise, but not an Earth-shattering one. Selected 12th overall in 2021, the 23-year-old has shown little forward progress since his unexpectedly strong showing as an 18-year-old. He’s hit 33 points in back-to-back seasons, both career highs, but is an extremely poor finisher who notched just eight goals this year and hasn’t shot above 10% since his rookie campaign. He plays a physical game and has reasonably sound defensive impacts, but his 45.7% career win rate in the dot isn’t inspiring. If not trade bait, he’s likely looking at a short-term deal in the $4MM range.
Other RFAs: D Corson Ceulemans, F James Malatesta, F Hunter McKown, F Mikael Pyyhtia, D Stanislav Svozil, F Jack Williams, D Egor Zamula
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Boone Jenner – Columbus was well in the playoff race and opted to hold onto all their big-ticket pending UFAs as a result. An April collapse left them seven points out, and while they’ve managed to extend one of their big-ticket UFA trio in Charlie Coyle, two remain unaccounted for. Jenner’s departure would be a real shock to the system. The Jackets’ captain since 2021 is well into his second decade with the organization, first acquired as a second-round pick in 2011.
He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in games played by a significant margin and is still reasonably productive despite shoulder injuries taking a large bite out of the latter half of his career. A poor finishing streak limited him to 13 goals in 67 outings this season, but he still totaled 38 points, on pace for 47 had he played a full season. He’s 33 next month, and even in a thin free agent class, his recent injury history means there won’t be any huge above-market-value offers waiting for him elsewhere. There shouldn’t be much fuss about retaining Jenner for another three or four years in the $4.5-5.5MM range to aid a team on the rise.
F Mason Marchment – It was a tale of two seasons for Marchment, who could be looking for his fourth team in three seasons if not retained. An ever-effective top-nine producer ever since his big breakout with the Panthers in 2021-22, he was traded to the Kraken last summer by the Stars as a result of their tight cap situation. Marchment fell flat in Seattle, limited to four goals and 13 points in 29 games before Columbus paid a second and a fourth-round pick to bring him in as a reclamation project.
Marchment erupted for 15 goals, 32 points, and a raucous +21 rating in 39 games down the stretch to serve as the Jackets’ best goal-scorer on a per-game basis this season. He did so on a top line with Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko that controlled 54.6% of expected goals to boot. Age works against him on the open market as well – he’ll be 31 in June – but has the best case of anyone here to exceed his three-year, $5.67MM AAV extension projection from AFP.
D Erik Gudbranson – Gudbranson was a controversial free-agent pickup back in 2022 – not for his fit, but with the four-year, $16MM price tag that was attached. He certainly never played up to his $4MM AAV for the Jackets, but the team’s lack of cap constraints during his tenure meant it ultimately didn’t matter much. Like Jenner, injuries have derailed his past few seasons, with only 53 suit-ups over the last two years. In a reduced role this season, the 34-year-old righty was a serviceable #6 option with a +6 rating and some decent defensive numbers while averaging 17:46 of ice time per game. He’s a non-factor offensively, only registering three points, but is still an NHL-caliber bottom-pairing/press box option. A one-year deal in the $1MM range will be out there for him this summer, whether it’s in Columbus or elsewhere.
Other UFAs: F Zach Aston-Reese, F Hudson Fasching, G Ivan Fedotov, F Brendan Gaunce, F Danton Heinen, D Dysin Mayo, G Zachary Sawchenko, F Owen Sillinger, D Brendan Smith
Projected Cap Space
Columbus, per usual, has plenty of spending money this summer with $32.36MM in room. Some of that will disappear quickly with Fantilli’s and Greaves’ deals but they should still have around $15-20MM in open market money. Hungry to make a playoff push, they’ll be in on virtually every “top” free agent amid a slim list, with a strong organizational need to fill out their AHL forward depth as well.
Images courtesy of David Gonzales-Imagn Images (Fantilli) and Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images (Jenner). Contract and cap information per PuckPedia.