Adam Fantilli’s next contract is already shaping the Blue Jackets’ offseason, and it may be forcing Columbus to pause on other roster decisions.
On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said the team wants clarity on what Fantilli is seeking in annual value before it can move forward. The bigger issue, though, is that the total number on the deal won’t help Columbus much from a payroll standpoint. With the way other young star contracts have gone, Friedman said the Blue Jackets are going to have to pay Fantilli above the $10 million mark - the only real question is how far above it goes.
That uncertainty ties directly into term. If Fantilli is aiming to follow the path of other young RFA stars, a shorter deal could be in play, and that would push the annual average value even higher.
Nearly 20 NHL contracts set to begin next year run through the end of the 2030-31 season. Stretch that to seven years, and fewer than 10 players starting new contracts in 2026-27 are locked into that kind of long-term commitment.
Fantilli, 21, just finished the 2025-26 season with 24 goals and 59 points in 82 games for Columbus. His market is being viewed alongside other top names from the 2023 draft class, including Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard. Carlsson’s next deal will account for 17.31% of the Ducks’ cap hit, while Bedard’s comes in at 14.42%, despite Bedard being the more productive scorer by the numbers cited.
But Fantilli isn’t the only piece complicating Columbus’ planning. Friedman also said the biggest decision hanging over the club is what to do with Kirill Marchenko. The winger is entering the final season of a three-year, $11.55 million contract and will have just one more year of team control before reaching unrestricted free agency.
Marchenko’s recent comments have made his situation look even murkier. He finished 2025-26 with 27 goals and 67 points in 76 games, and over the last two seasons he has produced 58 goals and 141 points in 155 games with a plus-36 rating while averaging 18:46 of ice time per night. That kind of production is not easy to replace, especially for a team in Columbus’ position.
The problem, as Friedman laid it out, is the math. Whether the Blue Jackets are the team that pays Marchenko or not, the trade market has to make sense first.
Columbus has also been tied to win-now thinking in the Zach Werenski trade rumors, which means any return for Marchenko would ideally fit that same mold. Friedman noted that if the Jackets are bringing in one or two players, moving out a $3.85 million cap hit may not line up cleanly with the money coming back.
For now, Columbus is sitting on a little more than $11 million in cap space for 2026-27, but that cushion could shrink fast if both Fantilli and Marchenko end up getting major raises. And if that happens, the club could be looking at more than $20 million annually tied up in the pair for the foreseeable future.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Roster Battle Starts Getting Real In First Preseason Look
The Blue Jackets are finally moving from camp skates to something closer to a real evaluation, with their first preseason game against the Red Wings set to give the staff a useful early look at a roster still taking shape. With only a limited number of exhibition games on the calendar and some restrictions on who can play, these openers carry a little more weight than usual, especially for a club trying to separate established pieces from the prospects pushing to matter.
That makes the first game a useful snapshot of a defense battle that has been building since camp began, while also creating room for younger players to show they belong in the conversation. Mathieu Olivier, Conor Garland, Denton Mateychuk, Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro are all expected to get in, so the Jackets should have enough regulars on the ice to make the matchup meaningful without losing sight of the bigger question: which players keep giving the coaching staff reasons to keep them around when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Camp Suddenly Has Two Contract Problems Fans Can't Ignore
Adam Fantillis contract situation has quietly become one of the first major storylines of Blue Jackets camp, and the pause has been long enough to get attention around the room. The young center remains unsigned and has now missed four straight days of training camp, leaving Columbus without one of its most important pieces as the club tries to build momentum heading into the season.
Kirill Marchenko adds another layer to the picture, because any conversation about moving him runs straight into the cost of keeping him. His next deal is expected to come in at a premium, which complicates both trade chatter and long-term planning for a team that cant afford many loose ends. For a Blue Jackets group trying to settle its roster and identity early, the contract questions are starting to pile up in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets No. 10 Brings Back More Franchise Eras Than Fans Realize
A simple sweater number can end up carrying a lot more history than fans expect, and No. 10 has done exactly that for Columbus. Over the years, the Blue Jackets have passed it from one era to another, with Serge Aubin, Trevor Letowski, Duvie Westcott, James Wisniewski, Marin Gbork, Mark Letestu, Jack Skille and Alexander Wennberg all taking a turn wearing it while the franchise kept searching for the right fit.
What makes the list especially interesting is how many of those names have since moved into new chapters, whether behind the bench or into other post-playing roles, turning a single number into a kind of time capsule for the organization. And even as the jersey history itself is easy to trace, the broader story of some of those former No. 10s still leaves room for a deeper look at how their Blue Jackets stops shaped what came next. [Read more 🡒]