Adam Fantilli’s long contract standoff is over, and both sides came out with something they wanted.
The Columbus Blue Jackets locked up their 21-year-old center on Thursday with a six-year, $82.5 million deal, ending a stretch that had already cost him most of training camp and at least three of the team’s four preseason games. The wait dragged on, but the final number and term tell the story: Columbus gets stability, and Fantilli gets paid like one of the league’s rising stars.
President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell said Thursday evening that the talks initially missed on both the money and the length, but the real sticking point was the sixth year.
"We really pushed for six years," Waddell said. "We had to adjust the average annual value to go up, because you're getting two years of (Fantilli's unrestricted free agent status)."
That extra season matters for Columbus. A franchise that has struggled to hold onto elite talent now gets a little more certainty with one of its most important players.
That’s not a small thing, especially with uncertainty hanging around two other top names, Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko. Werenski has said he wants to stay, while Marchenko has been much less reassuring from the fan base’s point of view.
The price for that sixth year pushed Fantilli’s average annual value to $13.75 million, but the deal still fits neatly with the market for young top-end talent. It is nearly identical to the six-year, $81 million contract Anaheim gave Cutter Gauthier last week.
The numbers help explain why. Fantilli has played 213 games and produced 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points, while Gauthier has 159 games, 32 goals, 28 assists and 60 points. Gauthier’s production has been about 9% ahead so far, but Fantilli is nearly a year younger despite the heavier workload.
And with the salary cap climbing and young restricted free agents getting paid earlier, this deal could look smarter as time passes. If Fantilli keeps developing and becomes the kind of 40-goal, 50-assist player Columbus clearly believes he can be, the contract will age well.
There’s a lot riding on that projection, though. Fantilli is now the first forward in NHL history to land a contract worth more than $10 million without having a season of at least 60 points. That is the gamble on his side, but also the reward: more than $80 million guaranteed over the next six years.
For Fantilli, the deal also brings a new kind of spotlight. He’ll enter the season as one of the league’s highest-paid players, and he knows the expectations that come with it.
"It comes with more expectations, but I'm grateful for that pressure," he said. "It's something that I've wanted and I'm real excited to have it."
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