While some teams are still working towards winning hockey’s ultimate prize in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Columbus Blue Jackets are about a month into their offseason. Despite missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, Ohio’s team took leaps forward in 2024-25. General manager Don Waddell and his staff have a lot of work to do between now and opening night in October. Let’s look at those tasks that should take priority, aside from all things related to the draft — that will be saved for another piece.
Make Decisions on Ivan Provorov & Other Veterans
There are some real opportunities to completely remake the Blue Jackets’ roster with a ton of cap space and a lot of expiring veteran contracts. With the steps forward that they took this season, there’s a lot worth keeping, and so Waddell has some difficult decisions to make.
Right at the top of that list is Russian defender Ivan Provorov. He very well could be the team’s best defensive defenseman. Steady, seasoned, and a real commitment to defending is exactly what the team’s back-end needs. He plays both sides of the blue line, and if he made it to free agency, he would be the top defender on the market. They’re going to have to be careful not to overpay him, particularly when it comes to term.
If they sign the 28-year-old to a maximum term eight-year deal, he’d be 37 years old when that contract expired. They’ll also have Damon Severson signed into his late 30s, and Zach Werenski will need to be re-signed in a few years to a contract that’ll have him up in age as well. Just some future planning that they’ve got to consider, if Provorov is interested in re-signing.
Other veterans on expiring contracts include Columbus native Sean Kuraly, who has been exactly what they need in a fourth-line center. Justin Danforth has been a valuable depth piece when not dealing with injury and James van Riemsdyk was a popular veteran presence in the locker room. Players less likely to re-up, but could provide value, include trade deadline additions Luke Kunin and Christian Fischer, along with depth piece Kevin Labanc.
Re-Sign Dante Fabbro & Dmitri Voronkov
There are a couple of players who should take priority to be re-signed before July 1. Dante Fabbro has been the yin to Werenski’s yang. A more so defensive defender, Fabbro was claimed off of waivers from the Nashville Predators and got an opportunity to play on the top pairing. Werenski was already having a great start to the season, but being paired with Fabbro brought him from great to elite. In Fabbro, the Blue Jackets have a guy who can be that long-term top pairing partner for number eight. He’s only 26 and AFP Analytics projects Fabbro’s next contract at four years and at a $4,528,519 cap hit. If they can get him for that price, they should jump at the opportunity.
Dmitri Voronkov is the other player who’s up for a new contract this summer and should be a priority. His 6-foot-5 frame and physical presence, combined with a scoring touch in front of the net, add a different dynamic to the team. We’ve seen Zach Hyman with the Edmonton Oilers be incredibly productive from within a couple of feet of the net, and Voronkov is trending towards success in that same niche. He was also a part of one of the best lines in hockey from an advanced stats perspective this season with Kirill Marchenko and Sean Monahan. AFP Analytics projects his next contract at six years and $6,334,883, a reasonable price if he stays in the top-six and continues to score like he has.
Blue Jackets Must Find a Way to Revamp Their Goaltending
The Blue Jackets’ playoff chances came down to the final day of the regular season — a stark contrast from the past several seasons. Their scoring was light years ahead of what was expected. Their team defense took leaps forward with the guidance of new head coach Dean Evason. However, their goaltending was once again among the worst in the NHL. If they had some improvement there, it’s reasonable to believe the Blue Jackets would have made the postseason.
I’ve written before that Elvis Merzlikins isn’t a lost cause, as many on social media might suggest. He simply needs support. If they can get Merzlikins a partner who can generate 35 to 45 quality starts, then Elvis should be able to handle the rest.
The goalie market is weak in the free agent class, but it wouldn’t hurt to explore the trade market. The ideal trade candidate is a goalie with more than 150 games played who has proven capable of playing well in 30 to 40 NHL games in a few different seasons. Coming from a winning environment would be a plus. They’re looking for the next Logan Thompson, who the Washington Capitals got off of the Vegas Golden Knights for pennies on the dollar.
If they’re not able to find a candidate on the market, the very least they could do is admit that the Daniil Tarasov experiment is not working and clear the path for Jet Greaves to earn a full-time NHL gig. He’s shown really well in limited call-ups and was a big reason they remained in playoff contention at the end of the season.
Blue Jackets Should Add Without Overspending in Free Agency
The Blue Jackets are among the teams with the most salary cap space this offseason. CapWages projects them as having over $42 million in cap space this summer. There are a lot of names out in the free agent market that could add value to the Blue Jackets organization, but it’s key that the Jackets don’t significantly impede their future salary cap situation with overpayments. Here’s a list of the top unrestricted free agents this summer and their projected contracts from AFP Analytics.
| Player | Current Team | Position | AFP Analytics Next Contract Projection (Years x Cap hit) |
| Mitch Marner | Toronto Maple Leafs | RW | 7 x $12,952,529 |
| Brock Boeser | Vancouver Canucks | RW | 6 x $8,459,390 |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | Winnipeg Jets | LW, RW | 6 x $8,106,756 |
| John Tavares | Toronto Maple Leafs | C | 3 x $7,939,870 |
| Aaron Ekblad | Florida Panthers | RD | 7 x $7,802,350 |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Los Angeles Kings | LD | 7 x $7,608,621 |
| Matt Duchene | Dallas Stars | C, RW | 3 x $7,170,140 |
| Brock Nelson | Colorado Avalanche | C | 3 x $7,060,633 |
| Sam Bennett | Florida Panthers | C | 6 x $6,637,250 |
| Dmitri Orlov | Carolina Hurricanes | LD | 3 x $5,806,400 |
While most of those numbers actually look palatable, it’s reasonable to expect that the volatility of the open market will push those terms and cap-hits up. It’s also hard to believe that some of the more valuable pieces, looking at Mitch Marner and Sam Bennett, will actually make it to market. Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Boeser, and Aaron Ekblad have their drawbacks, which might deter a team from giving them term, and most of the others are already in the twilight of their careers. To put it simply, there are no real slam dunks among the players that will make less than $10 million per season on the free agent market.
Over the next three seasons, here are the core Blue Jackets that will need a raise on their current contract:
| Expiring after 2025-26 | Current Cap Hit | AFP Analytics Next Contract Projection (Years x Cap hit) |
| Boone Jenner | $3,750,000 | 3 x $4,247,363 |
| Cole Sillinger | $2,250,000 | 4 x $4,625,873 |
| Yegor Chinakhov | $2,100,000 | 2 x $2,791,783 |
| Adam Fantilli | $950,000 | 7 x $8,722,970 |
| Expiring after 2026-27 | Current Cap Hit | (No AFP projection for 2 seasons out) |
| Kirill Marchenko | $3,850,000 | – |
| Kent Johnson | $1,800,000 | – |
| Denton Mateychuk | $886,667 | – |
That’s seven players right there whose salaries will most definitely grow. They can’t jam up too many overpriced free agents without risking the loss of one of these players that will be a big part of their future. If you bring in one of those top wingers, it’s likely to impede the development of one of those youngsters who took a big step forward this season, taking a top-six forward spot away.
The Blue Jackets took leaps forward in 2024-25. They’ve got a real opportunity to continue that growth next season if they play their cards right. Keeping the right veteran personnel, re-signing key pieces to their long-term core at a reasonable cap hit, revamping their goaltending and not overspending in free agency are some key priorities. Waddell has the experience and has shown the ability to make hard, short-term decisions to benefit the team in the long run. He certainly has the ability to draw a road map to success through this summer, we’ll just have to wait and see what that path looks like.
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