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Adam Fantilli

Adam Fantilli’s Camp Wants To Wait On Extension Talks With Blue Jackets

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Last month, Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said he planned to initiate extension talks with center Adam Fantilli’s camp as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract. However, he wasn’t successful in doing so. Waddell told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic that Fantilli’s camp is unwilling to sign a long-term deal before a pivotal third NHL season that could dramatically increase his market value when he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

“We’ve had no negotiations at all,” Waddell told Portzline. “I spoke with (Fantilli’s agent Pat) Brisson last week, and they’re in no hurry from their end. It won’t get done before the season.”

As Portzline emphasizes, the lack of talks shouldn’t be misconstrued as concern over Fantilli’s long-term future in Columbus. In fact, it’s a completely understandable perspective from an incredibly high-ceiling talent who lost some precious development time, missing nearly half his rookie season due to a calf laceration, wanting to make sure he’s paid fairly on a long-term deal.

Of course, it’s also a bet on himself to keep up the momentum he created last season. The 2023 third-overall pick played all 82 games and really began to shine in the back half of the season, clicking at nearly a point-per-game pace after a comparatively slower start to the campaign. All in all, he tallied 31 goals in what was his first fully healthy professional season, tying with Kirill Marchenko for the team lead. He added 23 assists for 54 points to rank fifth on the team in scoring. He didn’t look out of place when trialed in top-line minutes when No. 1 pivot Sean Monahan was out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch later in the year due to a wrist injury, either.

If he signed an extension this offseason, that likely would have commanded a cap hit around $9.5MM on a seven-year pact with the cap projected to jump to at least $104MM for 2026-27, AFP Analytics projects. But if Fantilli can build on his 70-point pace over Columbus’ latter 41 games last year, there’s a strong case for him to dip into the eight-figure range annually and surpass Zach Werenski’s $9.583MM cap hit as the Jackets’ highest-paid player.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward move from Fantilli’s camp. A long-term offer presumably won’t be on the table if he plateaus this year, resulting in negotiations shifting to a bridge deal and some lost earnings compared to whatever long-term offer is on the table now, at least in the short term.

Whenever extension talks do commence in earnest, cap space won’t be much of a limiting factor. The club has $46.155MM to spend under the projected $104MM limit for 2026-27 with 14 roster spots filled. Their most expensive expiring talent, veterans Charlie Coyle ($5.125MM) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson ($4MM), will almost certainly get pay cuts if they’re re-signed.

Blue Jackets Notes: Fantilli, Provorov, Forward Depth

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There’s no question that the Columbus Blue Jackets have one of the cleanest cap tables in the league, especially for how competitive they’re expected to be in the 2025-26 season. Still, as their younger players continue to age, the Blue Jackets are getting closer to potentially having to make difficult decisions, and their extension negotiations with Adam Fantilli will have a major impact on their salary hierarchy moving forward.

Despite having a somewhat disappointing rookie season, albeit limited by injuries, the third overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft responded well last season, scoring 31 goals and 54 points in 82 games while averaging 17:29 of ice time per game. Fantilli still needs to improve in the faceoff dot and on the defensive side of the puck, but being a 30-goal scorer at 20 years old is nothing to scoff at.

In a recent interview with James Murphy of RG Media, Blue Jackets’ General Manager Don Waddell spoke about the upcoming negotiations with Fantilli, saying, We’re going to talk here in the next couple of weeks. Pat Brisson is his agent, and we’re going to do some face-to-face meetings. When these kinds of players are up and these kinds of deals need to be made, I think you need to be in front of each other. I think you make a lot more progress than just over the phone. So that’s always been my theory, and Pat’s the same way. I’ve done a lot of deals over the years with Pat, so we’ll be fine and sit down face-to-face and get this done. As we get closer to training camp, I think we’ll be much further ahead, and we have some dates already planned that we’ll meet, so let’s go from there.”

There technically shouldn’t be any rush on Columbus’s end, given that Fantilli is a few years away from even becoming arbitration-eligible. Still, for the sake of cost certainty and having one of their core pieces locked up long-term, the Blue Jackets are eyeing a long-term extension with Fantilli in the coming weeks.

Waddell also spoke about a separate extension this offseason. On the eve of free agency this summer, Columbus re-signed defenseman Ivan Provorov to a seven-year, $59.5MM contract, which represented only a $1.75MM yearly increase on his previous deal. Despite reports at the time indicating that Provorov might seek a larger deal on the open market, Waddell explained in the interview that there was no real concern he’d leave the organization.

Murphy quoted Waddell, saying, “Well, the good thing is I was in dialogue regularly with Mark Andler, his agent, and there’s a lot of outside noise, but Mark kept telling me, and Provorov too, that his first choice was to stay here in Columbus.” Waddell explained that although Provorov’s cap hit may seem high, he believes it will look more favorable as the salary cap increases. Additionally, Provorov’s preparation for each season is expected to enhance his longevity throughout the duration of the contract.

Lastly, Waddell touched on his excitement over the depth the Blue Jackets brought in this summer, particularly on offense. The team specifically targeted Charlie Coyle as a right-handed center and believes his leadership skills will prove a boon to the younger players on the roster.

Meanwhile, the team’s General Manager also remarked about the skill level of Miles Wood on the offensive side of the puck and Isac Lundeström’s skill on the defensive side of the puck. All three additions are expected to maintain important roles for the Blue Jackets this season and help the team return to the postseason for the first time since the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Team Canada Announces Initial World Championship Roster

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Hockey Canada has followed up news of their World Championship coaching staff by announcing the first 15 players on their tournament roster. The team is a healthy mix between veteran NHL experience and burgeoning stars. That includes reigning first overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini, who will receive his first chance to join Canada’s Men’s team. Celebrini will operate down a loaded center depth chart, behind NHL stars Bo Horvat and Ryan O’Reilly.

Celebrini is the headliner, but Canada will embrace a major youth movement with this lineup. They’re also bringing young forward Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, as well as defenseman Ryker Evans. All three players proved their worth as everyday NHL talents this season – Fantilli with a 30-goal season, Johnson with 57 points, and Evans with a routine top-four role in Seattle. Interestingly, the roster does not yet contain 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard, who scored eight points in 10 tourney games last summer.

Team Canada has also invited 22-year-old goaltender Dylan Garand – the only invitee to not spend the entire season in the NHL. Garand instead served as the starter for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, where he managed a .913 save percentage and 20-10-8 record. He’ll likely be the third-string goaltender once Canada adds more experienced pros currently in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Evans’ role on defense will be sheltered by major supports in the form of MacKenzie Weegar, Noah Dobson, Brandon Montour, and Travis Sanheim. All four players are top defensemen for their NHL clubs and collectively form a very experienced blue-line for the international lineup. None of Canada’s first five defense invites were on the World Championship roster last year.

The current roster is as follows:

F Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)
F William Cuylle (Rangers)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Tyson Foerster (Flyers)
F Barrett Hayton (Hockey Club)
F Bo Horvat (Islanders)
F Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets)
F Travis Konecny (Flyers)
F Ryan O’Reilly (Predators)

D Noah Dobson (Islanders)
D Ryker Evans (Kraken)
D Brandon Montour (Kraken)
D Travis Sanheim (Flyers)
D MacKenzie Weegar (Flames)

G Dylan Garand (Rangers)

Hockey Canada Releases 2024 World Championship Roster

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May 7: Celebrini and Fantilli have returned home from Czechia, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. The former will participate in tonight’s 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, while Fantilli’s reasons for departing are undisclosed. It’s unclear whether they’ve been removed from the roster entirely. In a corresponding transaction, the team added Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois and Lightning forwards Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul to the roster.

May 3: Hockey Canada has released its roster of 22 players who will wear the maple leaf at the 2024 World Championship, which begins next week in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia. There are three open spots left to be filled throughout the tournament as more teams are eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Much like the initial World Championship roster that USA Hockey released weeks back, it’s almost completely made up of NHL talent – a rarity for the top-level countries at this tournament recently. The return and promise of future best-on-best international tournaments in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics has players and front offices looking at this year’s Worlds as a tune-up and initial evaluation for those events.

In fact, the only non-NHL player on Canada’s tournament-opening roster will be in the league next season. That’s presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who continues his 2023-24 campaign after taking home the Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player in his freshman season with Boston University. Their offense is highlighted and led by Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard and Kraken sniper Jared McCann, while Sabres defenders Bowen Byram and Owen Power highlight the back end. Blues netminder Jordan Binnington is expected to serve as the team’s starter.

The full roster is as follows:

F Connor Bedard (Blackhawks)
F Michael Bunting (Penguins)
F Macklin Celebrini (2024 draft-eligible)
F Dylan Cozens (Sabres)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Ridly Greig (Senators)
F Dylan Guenther (NHL Utah)
F Andrew Mangiapane (Flames)
F Jack McBain (NHL Utah)
F Jared McCann (Kraken)
F Dawson Mercer (Devils)
F Brandon Tanev (Kraken)

D Bowen Byram (Sabres)
D Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens)
D Jamie Oleksiak (Kraken)
D Colton Parayko (Blues)
D Owen Power (Sabres)
D Damon Severson (Blue Jackets)
D Olen Zellweger (Ducks)

G Jordan Binnington (Blues)
G Nico Daws (Devils)
G Joel Hofer (Blues)

Evening Notes: Tortorella, Fantilli, Jones, Vlasic

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Despite their recent collapse, it doesn’t appear as though the Philadelphia Flyers are planning to make a coaching change to replace John Tortorella anytime soon. This news comes from TSN’s Darren Dreger who reports that Flyers sources have told him that “Torts is not leaving the bench.” The speculation around Tortorella’s job security makes sense given that the team is mired in a 1-6-3 streak in their last ten and are currently chasing a playoff spot after sitting comfortably in third place in the Metropolitan Division just a few short weeks ago.

The Flyers are winless in eight straight games and have looked lost the last month, particularly in their last three games where they have been outscored 19-7 by the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens. Last night’s 9-3 loss to Montreal was particularly difficult to watch as the Canadiens dominated the Flyers from start to finish which further added to speculation about Tortorella’s future.

In other evening notes:

  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli won’t play again this season after suffering a lacerated calf against the Seattle Kraken back on January 28th. While that news isn’t overly surprising given that there are just a handful of games left on the NHL schedule, what is surprising to hear is that the 19-year-old rookie might play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships if he is healthy a month from now. Fantilli played for Team Canada last year at the tournament and could return on May 10th if he is at 100 percent. Last year’s third-overall pick will finish his first NHL regular season with 12 goals and 15 assists in 49 games.
  • Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic will suit up for Team U.S.A. at the IIHF World Championships. The 22-year-old Vlasic hasn’t represented the United States internationally for over five years, last suiting up for the Americans at the U18 World Championship in 2018-19. Jones last suited up internationally two years ago at the World Championships when he captained the Americans to a fourth-place finish.

Adam Fantilli May Not Return This Season

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With multiple injuries coming to the top of the 2023 NHL Draft class this season, it appears that Adam Fantilli of the Columbus Blue Jackets may be the only one unable to return this year. In an update from Craig Merz of the NHL, Fantilli’s recovery has been much slower than expected, a reality that could postpone his next matchup until next year.

Fantilli went down with a calf laceration on January 28th, with the original outlook putting him out for about eight weeks. That would have put Fantilli’s return earlier this week on March 25th, a milestone he was unable to hit.

In a quote regarding Fantill’s recovery process, head coach of the Blue Jackets, Pascal Vincent, said, “He’s still working on the recovery. I was really hoping to see him back before the end of the season. We don’t know yet. I still hope, but it’s slower than expected“.

If Fantilli is unable to return for Columbus this season, he will finish the year with 12 goals and 27 points in 49 games for the Blue Jackets. With many draft pundits putting Fantilli as the second-best prospect coming out of the 2023 NHL Draft, Fantilli did not show as much offensive prowess as expected throughout his first season in the NHL.

Nevertheless, there should not be any pessimism surrounding Fantilli’s future health, or his future talent level on the ice. At only 19 years old, the former Hobey Baker Award winner still has plenty of time to become an elite player for the Blue Jackets.

Blue Jackets’ Adam Fantilli Out Eight Weeks

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Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli will miss approximately eight weeks with a calf laceration sustained Sunday against the Kraken, the team announced Wednesday.

Fantilli sustained the injury when Seattle forward Jared McCann’s left skate made incidental contact with Fantilli’s left calf as he attempted to lay a hit. The skate reached Fantilli’s calf despite him wearing multiple layers of protective equipment, including Kevlar socks, per multiple sources.

The 19-year-old has largely been successful in what’s been a tumultuous season for Columbus. Through 49 games, the 2023 third-overall pick has 12 goals, 15 assists and 27 points while averaging 15:42 per game.

An eight-week recovery timeline from today puts Fantilli back in the Blue Jackets lineup with 10 games remaining in the regular season. He will be out through the Trade Deadline and is looking at a return during the last week of March.

Critics of Fantilli’s two-way game during his rookie season will point to his -21 rating, but there’s more to that number than meets the eye. He’s controlled 48.4% of Corsi events at even strength – 1% higher than the Blue Jackets’ total share without Fantilli on the ice – good enough for seventh on the team. His rating has been brought down by goaltending, as Columbus netminders have a .861 SV% when Fantilli is on the ice in all situations.

He’s bounced around the lineup this season, but head coach Pascal Vincent has most commonly used Fantilli either at center between veterans Johnny Gaudreau and Justin Danforth or on a ’Kid Line’ of sorts with Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov. Other Blue Jackets youngsters, namely Yegor Chinakhov and Kent Johnson, will likely receive a bit more ice time with Fantilli out of the fold.

Evening Notes: Fantilli, Capitals, Zadorov

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Star Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli suffered a cut on the back of his leg in the team’s Sunday night loss to the Seattle Kraken. He was seen leaving the game on crutches and the team announced today that he will miss their Tuesday night game against the St. Louis Blues. Fantilli has been a bright spot in a dark Blue Jackets season, tied for second on the team in scoring with 27 points through 49 games. The 19-year-old is one of only four Blue Jackets to play in all 49 of the team’s games this season.

Columbus drafted Fantilli with the third-overall pick in last year’s draft and now becomes the last of the top-three picks to face an injury this season. Chicago Blackhawks sensation Connor Bedard is currently grappling with a jaw injury that’s limited him to 39 games, while Leo Carlsson faced a knee injury that’s held him to just 30 games this season. The trio of top picks is joined by Zach Benson – who has played in 38 games – as the only players to jump directly into the NHL. Despite playing in more games than anyone else in the class, Fantilli doesn’t lead the group in scoring – as Bedard has managed 15 goals and 33 points despite his injury.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals have signed a six-year extension with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The new deal carries the partnership through the 2029-30 season. Hershey has been Washington’s affiliate since 2005, when they were coached by NHL-coaching veteran Bruce Boudreau. Hershey won the Calder Cup Championship in their first year under the Capitals, and have since become a legacy team in the minor leagues, winning three other championships. This includes last season when they toppled the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a seven-game series. With six more years ahead of them, Hershey will look to continue to add to their trophy cabinet.
  • Player agent Dan Milstein has shared that his client Nikita Zadorov is not expecting to be traded by the Vancouver Canucks before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Speculation arose after Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed Vancouver’s desire to clear up cap space, listing Andrei Kuzmenko and Zadorov as options for moving out cap. Zadorov joined the Canucks on November 30th, with Vancouver sending a 2024 fifth-round pick and 2026 third-round pick to the Calgary Flames. The 28-year-old defender has since played in 24 games with the Canucks, scoring four points and recording 39 penalty minutes. He carries a $3.75MM cap hit through the end of the season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Snapshots: Calder Trophy, Ullmark, Fritz

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The 2023-24 Calder Trophy race should be one of the most exciting in recent memory. While Connor Bedard is undeniably the runaway favorite, there is a suite of other talented rookies that could challenge Bedard’s title. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and Harman Dayal recently ranked their top-20 Calder candidates. Bedard unsurprisingly took the top spot, with Arizona Coyotes center Logan Cooley, Buffalo Sabres goalie Devon Levi, and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli making up the rest of the top four. The list also included names like Luke Hughes, Matthew Knies, and Joel Hofer.

The list featured more Anaheim Ducks prospects than any other team, with Leo Carlsson (#7) and Olen Zellweger (#9) ranked in the Top 10, while Lukas Dostal, Jackson LaCombe, and Pavel Mintyukov were all listed as honorable mentions. The Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, and Chicago Blackhawks were among other teams with multiple prospects featured.

Some other notes from around the NHL:

  • Ty Anderson, a reporter for Boston radio show 98.5 The Sports Hub, shared that one team approached the Bruins with a, “fair, market value return” for reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark. Ullmark posted a league-best save percentage (.938) and goals-against-average (1.89) last season. He followed it up with a .896 save percentage and 3.33 goals-against-average while appearing in six of Boston’s seven postseason games. And while he didn’t walk out of the postseason with any hardware, he confidently won the Vezina, receiving 22 votes to win it where no one else received more than three. Ullmark is signed to a $5MM cap hit through the next two seasons.
  • The Bridgeport Islanders have signed 32-year-old forward Tanner Fritz. Fritz has been a minor league player since 2015-16 when he split time between the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks and the Islanders AHL affiliate. His performances that season – notably his 12 points in 19 AHL games – were enough to earn him a consistent AHL role. The Grand Prairie, Alberta native got a taste of NHL experience in 2017-18, appearing in 34 games with the Islanders. He tacked on an additional eight NHL games in the following year but has been in the AHL ever since. With this deal, Fritz will remain a core piece of the Islanders depth chart, after recording 10 points in nine AHL playoff games last season.

Blue Jackets Sign Adam Fantilli

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Today is the first day that teams can sign their newly-drafted players to NHL contracts.  The Blue Jackets aren’t wasting any time with their top pick, as they’ve signed Adam Fantilli to a three-year, entry-level contract.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries an AAV of $4.15MM with bonuses, breaking down as follows:

2023-24: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary, $1MM in ’A’ bonuses, $2.2MM in ’B’ bonuses
2024-25: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary, $1MM in ’A’ bonuses, $2.2MM in ’B’ bonuses
2025-26: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary, $1MM in ’A’ bonuses, $2.2MM in ’B’ bonuses

Fantilli was widely expected to be off the board by the time Columbus picked with the third-overall selection.  However, Anaheim, who picked second, opted to not take Fantilli and instead selected Leo Carlsson.

The 18-year-old had a dominant year with Michigan.  He led the NCAA in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games, collecting at least a point in all but three of his appearances.  That helped him be named National Rookie of the Year along with the Hobey Baker Award for the best player in college hockey.

Fantilli also had a good showing internationally last season.  He picked up five points in seven contests at the World Juniors and also saw action at the World Championship as one of only five draft-eligible players participating; Fantilli had a goal and two assists in ten contests at that event.

Last month, Fantilli expressed an openness to remaining with the Wolverines for another season but after Columbus picked him, GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated that he’d like to see Fantilli turn pro.  He’s clearly getting his wish.

While it will take some time for him to live up to his potential, the Blue Jackets believe that Fantilli has a chance to become the legitimate top-line center that they have been seeking for quite some time now.  If that happens, Columbus will finally have that particular much-needed franchise pillar in place.

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