The Blue Jackets’ early-season scoring issues are starting to put Adam Fantilli under the spotlight, and the numbers are getting harder to ignore.
Columbus has had trouble generating offense with any kind of consistency, and the latest example came against the Buffalo Sabres, when the Jackets couldn’t keep up as the goals piled up on the other side. The bigger issue is that this isn’t supposed to be a roster that needs to search for firepower. The Blue Jackets are no longer in a rebuild, they’re tight to the salary cap, and they have veterans on the roster who have produced before.
Still, the conversation keeps coming back to Fantilli.
He signed the richest contract in franchise history just before the season started, and that deal came with immediate expectations. There wasn’t supposed to be a warm-up period, even though he missed training camp. The message from the coach and front office was that the missed camp time wasn’t a concern, that he had been working out and staying in touch, and that he would be ready.
So far, that hasn’t translated into the kind of production Columbus needs from its top center. Fantilli has 6 points, which puts him in a four-way tie for eighth on the team. That group includes two middle-six forwards and a defenseman who missed all of camp and the first two games of the season.
The Jackets have already adjusted his role, moving him off the top line and slotting 32-year-old Sean Monahan in there instead in an effort to spark the offense.
That doesn’t mean Fantilli has looked lost. If anything, his work away from the puck has stood out more, and that has never really been a problem area for him. He leads the team in faceoff percentage and has some of the better underlying numbers among the forwards.
But the stat sheet is still the stat sheet, and the production isn’t matching the role. He’s on pace for roughly 34 points over a full season, and that’s not enough for the player Columbus needs him to be.
There are signs in his game that are raising concern, too. He appears to be drifting back toward the style he used at the NCAA level, and that approach has repeatedly proven ineffective.
Too often, he’s carrying the puck straight into traffic and trying to beat defenders one-on-one instead of moving it and getting himself open again. Even with his speed and skill, that’s a tough way to survive in today’s NHL.
The Jackets need more from him - better use of his teammates, better finish when chances arrive, and more offense from the player they’re counting on as their No. 1 center. This isn’t a case of a star being stranded on an empty roster.
Columbus has support around him. The excuses are running out, and the team can’t afford to wait until mid-January for Fantilli to find his game.
In Other News...
Sam Bennett Delivered In A Panthers Win They Really Needed
Florida got the kind of response it had been looking for at Nationwide Arena, leaning on Sam Bennett to steady things in a 4-1 win over Columbus. Bennett scored twice, Anton Lundell and Aaron Ekblad each picked up assists, and the result pushed the Panthers to 10-7-2 as they tried to settle in after a stretch that had left little margin for error.
Columbus, meanwhile, could only manage one goal in a night where Florida controlled enough of the important moments to keep the Blue Jackets chasing. Ivan Provorov provided the lone tally for Columbus, but the bigger question for the Jackets is how they regroup after a loss that dropped them to 7-9-0 and again exposed how hard it can be to keep pace when the game tilts away early. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Got A Needed Sign On Two Key Veterans
Danton Heinens situation has become one of the quieter storylines around the Blue Jackets, but it carries real weight for a team trying to manage its roster and its veteran depth. After clearing waivers, the forward did not immediately report to the AHL Cleveland Monsters, and Columbus is giving him time to sort through what comes next.
For a club that has already had to navigate a lot of moving parts, the uncertainty around Heinen adds another layer to the picture. The latest around the league also includes injury news for Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin, a fine for San Jose forward Mason Marchment and, from Floridas side, the encouraging sight of Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand back at practice even if neither is fully ready to return yet. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Face A Big Test Tonight With Lineup Questions Looming
The Blue Jackets get another measuring-stick night against Florida, and they do it with some lineup uncertainty hanging over the room. Columbus enters at 27-22-8 and has generally handled the Panthers well at home, where it has gone 17-8-4 in the matchup, but the bigger question is how the group holds up if the projected forward mix gets altered before puck drop. For a team trying to keep its footing in the standings, these are the kinds of games that can reveal how much depth matters.
The injury picture is part of what makes this one worth watching beyond the opponent. Isac Lundestrom has been lightly skating after Achilles surgery, which at least offers a hint of progress, while Conor Garlands status remains unsettled after he was scratched with an upper-body injury. With the game on the schedule and the usual broadcast options in place, the Blue Jackets will have to navigate both the Panthers and the uncertainty around who is actually available to play. [Read more 🡒]