Blue Jackets’ Defensive Options If Provorov & Fabbro Walk in Free Agency

The Blue Jackets have four options available to them here. Those are internal options, free agency, trades and potential offer sheets. Let’s look at each option.

Internal Options

As we described recently in our Blue Jackets’ Roster Projection 1.0, the team has five players under contract that project to make the roster. Those are Zach Werenski, Damon Severson, Erik Gudbranson, Denton Mateychuk and Jake Christiansen.

Jordan Harris is a pending RFA. With a new deal, he could make the roster as a depth defenseman.

The Blue Jackets do have some defensemen in the organization with a contract. It remains to be seen exactly how close they are to making an impact in the NHL. Those players are Corson Ceulemans, Charlie Elick, Guillaume Richard, Luca Marrelli, Stanislav Svozil and newly-signed Caleb MacDonald. The only one from this group to see the NHL so far has been Svozil.

There doesn’t appear to be a player who is a slam dunk to make the roster this season. If we consider others who need a contract, such as Daemon Hunt or Samuel Knazko, it reinforces that there are no obvious candidates at this moment that would replace what Provorov and Fabbro brought to the Blue Jackets.

Given the current situation, this option appears to be a last resort if the team doesn’t address this in other ways.

Free Agency

The Blue Jackets can look to the free agency market to see if there is a fit. If he gets to market, Provorov would immediately become one of the best players available on defense. The same can be said for Fabbro given the resurgence he had after being claimed off waivers.

Here is a sample of some of the potential names available on the market. This is not an all-inclusive list. You can see the full list here.

The biggest name on the list is Ekblad. He’s about to play in his second consecutive Stanley Cup Final. Given who else on the Panthers needs a new contract, this is a situation worth monitoring.

Ekblad would immediately change the look of the Blue Jackets’ defense. He’d immediately slot into the top-four bringing size to the right side on top of what Gudbranson does.

While Ekblad is not the goal scorer he’s been in the past, he had one of his best playmaking seasons in 2024-25 with 30 helpers. His experience would be a welcomed addition on a Blue Jackets’ team looking to take the next step.

There would be significant questions with Ekblad on a long-term extension. He’s coming off making $7.5 million on his last deal. At age 29, he’s going to cash in with a raise. Would the Blue Jackets be willing to pay at that level?

Ekblad has also missed significant time due to injuries. He’s played a lot of games given how far into the playoffs the Panthers have gone. A long-term deal comes with significant risk.

The Panthers also would love to re-sign Ekblad if possible. There’s no guarantee he gets to market.

If the Blue Jackets lose Provorov and Fabbro, they should check in on Ekblad. Although there’s risk, he checks a lot of the boxes that would make him a good fit in the top-four.

Former Blue Jacket Gavrikov would be a fit. But would he want to re-sign there? He played significant first-pairing minutes with the Kings and will be due a raise.

Grzelcyk is coming off a career-high in assists. Burns and Orlov helped the Hurricanes to another Eastern Conference Final. Waddell would know them. Lindgren is coming off a tough season that saw him traded from the Rangers. Dumoulin showed well for the Devils especially when injuries mounted.

Free agency provides some options although everyone has risks and questions attached to them. My take? If Ekblad hits market, the Blue Jackets should inquire and see if they have a chance to add him. Outside that, let the market play itself out and see if something falls to the team that’s too good to pass up.

Trades

Waddell has made one thing clear. In the right deals, the 14th and 20th picks are available. While he hasn’t said this publicly, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if one of the Blue Jackets’ main targets in a potential trade is for a defenseman.

There are a couple of situations in the league worth monitoring from a Blue Jackets’ perspective. These are players in which their current situations could point to a trade if things don’t get worked out.

An example of this would be a player like Rasmus Andersson with the Calgary Flames. He has one year left on his current deal. There are questions out there about his future with the team given the timeline and what his next contract would look like among other factors.

If Provorov and Fabbro aren’t re-signed, Andersson would fit what the Blue Jackets are looking for, a right-handed defenseman who can play a shutdown role. Making a trade like this can be tough given the need for a new contract. Is this more of a trade deadline kind of deal?

Remember Damon Severson was a sign and trade. If there was enough interest in the player, that’s a possibility for Andersson. He’s an example of a player in which seeing if there’s a match makes sense.

Another example of a player in that category is Connor Murphy. The Blackhawks are clearly building for the future. They are a few years away at least from the contention conversation. He is entering the final year of his deal with the Blackhawks.

Like Andersson, this could setup as more of a trade deadline situation. Murphy seems to be happy in Chicago. But with his future beyond this season in question, he’s the kind of player that will circulate in the rumor mill. He’s also from the Columbus suburb of Dublin so this would make for a homecoming story if this ever became reality.

A couple other potential trade candidates include the likes of Erik Karlsson with the Penguins and maybe even a player like Vince Dunn in Seattle. No, the Blue Jackets wouldn’t seem to be in on a player like Karlsson. As for Dunn, the Kraken have new management and a new head coach in Lane Lambert. With a couple seasons left at over $7 million and the need to shake some things up, could we see a player like him moved? Maybe. Just don’t think the Blue Jackets are looking here.

When it comes to the Blue Jackets, remember that Waddell was interested in trading for Jacob Trouba. There is a desire to make a deal. There are other players we haven’t mentioned that could be in play if a bigger deal comes together.

Of all the options, trade appears to be the most likely option for the Blue Jackets especially if Provorov and Fabbro leave. Waddell has cap space and a desire for improvement. Given how thin the free agent market is in general, it all points back to the potential of a trade.

Offer Sheets?

The fourth option is Waddell electing to sign someone to an offer sheet. League-wide speculation says we could see some in this offseason. Given how much these could improve a team, there’s certainly an argument that can be made for an increase in them.

Waddell has been involved with them in the past. He initiated one with Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the Hurricanes. Montreal elected not to match.

Two players come to mind when thinking of a potential offer sheet. The first is Oilers’ Evan Bouchard. The second is Golden Knight’s Nicolas Hague.

Bouchard would obviously attract attention from 31 other teams. What he’s been able to do for the Oilers to help them get to consecutive Cup Finals would help anyone. He’s even garnering some Norris Trophy discussion.

As for Hague, he’s exactly the kind of big body defenseman teams would love to add. If the Golden Knights run into salary cap trouble, he becomes a prime offer sheet candidate. At 6-foot-6 and around 230 pounds, he would fill a hole on the left side with the Blue Jackets.

Bowen Byram with the Sabres is also eligible for an offer sheet. He could also get traded. Several teams are actively monitoring to see what the Sabres do here. The same can be said for the Rangers and K’Andre Miller. Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts his name is out there.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Blue Jackets have several options available to explore if Provorov and Fabbro walk. Ideally, they’d like to re-sign both so they don’t have as many questions heading into next season.

One way or another, the Blue Jackets have the ability to be one of the more active teams this offseason. From a big free-agent signing to potential trades to even an offer sheet, all are possible outcomes for Waddell to improve his roster.

There are no shortage of options. For the Blue Jackets, they have to find the right option. That’ll be their biggest challenge in all of this.