Blue Jackets discussing extension with pending unrestricted free agent

Shortly before their all-important win last night against the Detroit Red Wings, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the Columbus Blue Jackets are working on an extension with one of their forwards. Dreger shared that progress has been made with Mathieu Olivier on a new deal, and there’s virtually no chance he’ll be traded before next Friday’s deadline.

The Blue Jackets acquired Olivier from the Nashville Predators before the 2022-23 season for a fourth-round pick. Despite being limited to 66 games in his first year with the team and posting a ghastly -20 rating, Columbus signed Olivier to a two-year, $2.2M contract the following summer.

Olivier was again limited by injuries last season, scoring five goals and 12 points over 54 games. Still, he made notable improvements, increasing his shooting percentage by 2.4%, hits per game by 0.32, his CorsiFor% at even strength by 3.4%, and his on-ice save percentage at even strength by 2.2%.

He won’t threaten to lead the team in scoring, but the pending unrestricted free agent became integral to the Blue Jackets’ turnaround this season. He’s already posted the best offensive season of his career with 11 goals and nine assists in 59 games. The Biloxi, MS native has additionally raised his shooting percentage to 14.9% and posted a career-high 99 PIMs due to several fighting majors throughout the regular season.

His possession metrics have declined slightly, largely due to a three-minute bump in average ice time. Still, Olivier’s physicality is entering a new realm this year, averaging 3.78 hits per game and sitting second in the NHL behind Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood with 223 total hits.

Dreger didn’t mention any specifics for the potential extension. Keegan Kolesar’s three-year, $7.5M extension with the Vegas Golden Knights is a reasonable comparable, given his similar playstyle to that of Olivier. Since Olivier is three years younger than Kolesar, the Blue Jackets may entertain giving Olivier a fourth year and bumping his AAV closer to the $2.75M range.