Blue Jackets Notes: Provorov, Danforth, Keskinen
The Blue Jackets met with the representative for pending UFA defenseman Ivan Provorov at the combine this week, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). Projected as one of the top blueliners to hit the open market next month, he’s in a position to realistically command a max-term contract which would be seven years with another team or eight if Columbus signs him by the end of June.
However, Portzline notes that thus far, GM Don Waddell has been prioritizing a shorter-term agreement with the 28-year-old. Presumably, that offer would come with a higher AAV compared to a max-term offer but with over $40MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, they can safely afford to overpay if it got them a more desired term on the deal. Provorov had 33 points in 81 games this season while logging over 23 minutes a night and at this point, it’s unclear if he’d be amenable to a shorter-term pact.
More from Portzline’s piece on the Blue Jackets:
- Pending UFA forward Justin Danforth has switched agents. Previously represented by Puck Agency’s Jay Grossman, his new agent is Newport’s Pat Morris. Danforth played in 61 games this season, notching nine goals and 12 assists while also playing center on a full-time basis for the first time in his career. Coming off a one-year, $1.1MM deal, Danforth should be able to beat that on the open market next month if he doesn’t wind up re-signing with Columbus which Portzline notes is the veteran’s preferred outcome.
- The contract that prospect Oiva Keskinen received from the Blue Jackets last month contains a European Assignment Clause for next season. The 21-year-old is expected to get a chance to crack the NHL roster but he can trigger the return to Tappara in Finland if he doesn’t break camp with Columbus. A seventh-round pick in 2023, Keskinen had 15 goals and 20 assists in 59 regular season Liiga games but was limited to just a single assist in nine playoff outings.
Blue Jackets Sign Oiva Keskinen To Entry-Level Deal
The Blue Jackets announced today they’ve signed center prospect Oiva Keskinen to his entry-level contract. While financial terms weren’t disclosed, the deal begins next season and will make him a restricted free agent in the 2028 offseason.
Columbus selected Keskinen in the seventh round in 2023, one year after he was initially eligible for selection. The 6’0″ pivot didn’t get many cracks at Finland’s top junior league in his draft year but did in the 2022-23 campaign, posting a 20-21–41 scoring line in 38 top-flight junior games with Tappara en route to his selection.
Keskinen has spent the two seasons since in full-time professional roles with Tappara, doing well against older competition in one of Europe’s upper-tier leagues in Liiga. He’s coming off a strong 2024-25 campaign in which he finished fifth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 35 points in 59 games. He won a Liiga title with Tappara the year prior and recorded nine points in 16 postseason games in their run to the championship. He also had five points in seven games for the Finns back at the 2024 World Juniors.
Needless to say, he’s impressed considering his draft slot and gets rewarded as such. He’ll get a long look in camp before presumably being assigned to AHL Cleveland or being loaned back to Tappara for further development in 2025-26. Keskinen’s deal with the Finnish club runs through next season, so that’s the likeliest possibility.