The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those already eliminated through the first couple of rounds. Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Columbus.
This past season for the Blue Jackets was a whirlwind, to put it lightly. After moving Patrik Laine to Montreal, they then lost Johnny Gaudreau who died after being struck by a car a little before training camp, resulting in them briefly being under the salary floor. Accordingly, expectations for on-ice success were quite low but instead, Columbus was in the mix for a Wild Card spot until the very end of the season. As a result, instead of escalating their rebuild, GM Don Waddell’s to-do list this summer will likely revolve around trying to upgrade his group.
Shore Up The D
Columbus cut down on their goals allowed by 31 this season, a nice improvement but one that still left them near the bottom in that department. Adding to that concern is that two of their better blueliners are eligible to hit the open market in July.
Heading into the season, it felt like a matter of when, not if, Ivan Provorov would be moved. Unable to come to terms on an extension at various times in the year, it seemed like the Blue Jackets would move him closer to the trade deadline. But with the team staying in the playoff mix, Waddell held onto him. Provorov is coming off a deal that paid $6.75MM per season (30% of which was being paid down by Los Angeles) and as one of the better blueliners available in this UFA class, it stands to reason that he’s going to be able to command more than that on the open market. Waddell is either going to have to find a way to bring him back or replace him with a similarly impactful defender and there aren’t going to be many of those available.
Dante Fabbro was an early-season waiver pickup and the fit couldn’t have been better. After struggling to crack Nashville’s lineup, he came in and logged over 21 minutes a night while setting new career highs in goals and points. Basically, he became the reliable top-four defender he was projected to be for years with the Predators. All of a sudden, instead of having his next deal come in close to the $2.5MM he was previously making, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $4MM mark, especially as a coveted right-shot player. Again, re-signing or replacing him will be necessary.
On top of those moves, Waddell would be wise to look for another upgrade at some spot on the roster. Jordan Harris appears likely to be non-tendered while it’s unlikely Jack Johnson returns. At least one of them could be replaced by an improvement, giving them better depth if nothing else.
There’s also the Damon Severson situation to potentially address. A big addition two years ago, he was a healthy scratch for the final nine games of the season. With six years left at $6.25MM, a buyout isn’t likely but is there a way to move him for another high-priced option to reshape the back end? That will need to be examined as well.
Early Extension Talks
In terms of this year’s restricted free agent class, Waddell only has one headliner to contend with, RFA Dmitri Voronkov. After a solid 23-goal, 47-point effort and having arbitration eligibility, he’s heading for a significant raise on his entry-level salary. But beyond that, there really isn’t much. As a result, the Blue Jackets can also turn their focus toward some extension-eligible players on July 1st.
The most prominent of those has to be Adam Fantilli. After an injury-plagued rookie year, his sophomore year was quite solid as he tied Kirill Marchenko for the team lead in goals without being highly used on the power play. The third-overall pick in 2023, Fantilli looks like he is going to become the legitimate high-end center that they envisioned. That means they’re going to be handing him a significant raise within the next year or so.
A lot of the comparables in recent years have ranged from the high $7MM range to the low $8MM range. However, with the salary cap going up by $7.5MM this summer and then a projected $8.5MM for 2026-27, those comparable price tags seem low. Similar players have a cap hit percentage in the 9% to 10% range which, in 2026-27, would put his possible price range on a long-term deal between $9.36MM and $10.4MM per year. If things are trending in that direction, it might make sense to try to do something now over running the risk of the price tag being even higher if Fantilli finds another gear offensively next season.
Another center of note will also be extension-eligible this summer, captain Boone Jenner. He has been playing at a team-friendly $3.75MM cap charge for the last eight years, one that he outperforms when he’s healthy. Of course, staying healthy has been a challenge for the 31-year-old who hasn’t played a full 82-game season since 2016-17. Still, if Jenner posted another season around the 0.6 points-per-game mark with his faceoff prowess, he’d be highly sought after on the open market in 2026. Given the injury history, his earnings ceiling might not be the highest but still could start with a five on a multi-year deal. If Jenner is willing to give Columbus a bit of a discount on that coming off a particularly injury-ravaged season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the two sides work something out this summer.
Add Veteran Firepower
Columbus ranked seventh in the NHL in goals this season despite having a group on paper that largely went under the radar. All things considered, they still have a very young group up front and a lot went right from a development perspective, there’s far from a guarantee that they’re all going to stay on that same trajectory in 2025-26.
There’s one way Waddell can try to hedge against that concern and that’s by making a big splash to add some proven firepower on the wing. Beyond adding James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Labanc in training camp, they didn’t really replace Laine or Gaudreau. They got better than expected production out of van Riemsdyk with 16 goals while Mathieu Olivier moved up to the third line and scored 18 after having a previous personal best of five. Those were great outcomes but whether they’re repeatable remains to be seen.
The Blue Jackets have pretty much the cleanest books in the league from a cap perspective. The team enters the summer with over $41MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. A good chunk of that will go to the back end re-signings or replacements but there’s more than ample room to work with, even if they are working on a budget closer to the $70.6MM floor than the $95.5MM Upper Limit.
With their center situation in good shape, they can focus strictly on adding wingers. If they want to really aim big, Mitch Marner would certainly add to this roster. If they want more of a first or second-liner, Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers are out there.
If they want to go with a shorter-term option knowing that Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and Marchenko (possibly Cole Sillinger too) are heading for expensive raises in the next few years, then there are players like Patrick Kane, Reilly Smith, and Kyle Palmieri that could either fit on the second or third lines. They could also take a pricey player on in a trade, the inverse of what they did with Laine last summer.
There are lots of options for the Blue Jackets to take and while they could rest on their laurels with how things turned around offensively under Dean Evason, they can also help their chances of staying at that level by making a key addition on the wing in the coming weeks.
Search For Goalie Upgrades
To say it has been a rocky tenure for Elvis Merzlikins in goal would be an understatement. There have been impressive flashes where he has played like a legitimate starter. Unfortunately for Columbus, there have been plenty more struggles where he has played like an AHL starter at best. He hasn’t been able to put up a save percentage starting with a nine in the last three years; he actually lost five points off his .897 mark from 2023-24 this season which also was a contributing factor to the Blue Jackets being near the top of the league for most goals allowed once again.
With two years at $5.4MM, this is around the time when a buyout could start to look more feasible. Doing so this summer would save them $3.9MM next season and $2.6MM in 2026-27 before adding $1.65MM to the books for two years after that. Cap space isn’t an issue for Columbus but as a team that typically operates with budgetary restrictions, freeing up some money in the short term doesn’t hurt.
Of course, for a buyout (or a trade where he’s included to balance the money) to be feasible, they’d have to secure another starting goalie first in a marketplace that doesn’t feature many starters available either in free agency or in a trade. But if one of those options don’t materialize, there could still be a way to upgrade their situation between the pipes.
Daniil Tarasov was once viewed as the goalie of the future for Columbus but he struggled mightily this season. Owed a $1.26MM qualifying offer, it’s far from a given that he receives one. Meanwhile, Jet Greaves was quite impressive down the stretch but he has just 21 career NHL appearances under his belt. Still waiver-exempt for another year, would they be better giving him one more year with AHL Cleveland and opening a spot for a backup upgrade?
This isn’t something that the Blue Jackets necessarily have to do. If the back end winds up getting reshaped to a more structured unit, that could allow Merzlikins to bounce back somewhat. But this is an avenue Waddell would be wise to explore either way.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
