Blue Jackets Held Back By Adam Fantilli Contract Negotiations

Adam Fantilli is holding back the Columbus Blue Jackets from making other roster decisions, according to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.

Columbus wants to know what number Fantilli is looking for in terms of annual value on his next deal, but the overall number Fantilli is asking for doesn’t help the Jackets’ payroll. It’s obvious now that with how other contracts have transpired, the Blue Jackets will have to pay Fantilli over the $10MM number; the question is, just what it’ll be.

Along with this, if this overall number is higher and Fantilli is trying to emulate the contracts that his fellow young RFA stars have gone with, it’ll be a shorter contract length, meaning higher AAV. Nearly 20 contracts in the NHL that begin next year last until the 2030-31 season ends. Extend that length to seven years, and fewer than ten players who start new contracts in 2026-27 are committed to that ‘long-term’ contract.

The 21-year-old center finished his 2025-26 season scoring 24 goals for 59 points in a full 82-game campaign with the Blue Jackets. If you compare his fellow top-3 2023 NHL draft class colleagues, Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard’s contracts are among the top of the NHL in terms of cap hit and how much they take up their team’s payroll. Next year, Carlsson will fill a whopping 17.31% of the Ducks’ cap hit, and Bedard opted for a little less, at 14.42%, even though statistically, he is better than his Swedish colleague and has scored 60 more points. Both players will be taken into UFA expiration after the 2030-31 season.

Further to the Fantilli situation, Friedman also said that the biggest decision that holds Columbus back with no contract for Fantilli is what to do with Kirill Marchenko. The young Russian is entering the final season of a three-year, $11.55MM contract with the Blue Jackets, and will have only one additional year of team control before being eligible for unrestricted free agency. He appears to have a foot out the door based on his recent comments. He finished 2025-26 scoring 27 goals for 67 points in 76 games and isn’t an easily replaceable winger, especially for Columbus. In the past two years, he’s potted 58 goals and 141 points in 155 games with a +36 rating, averaging 18:46 of ice time per game.

The challenge with Marchenko that Friedman pointed out is how much whatever team is going to pay him, whether it be Columbus or not, is figuring out how the money works based on the potential trade return for this season. Seeing as the Blue Jackets, especially in the case of the Zach Werenski trade rumors, were looking to only acquire ‘win-now’ help, they’d ideally be looking to do the same in giving up a player of his caliber. Friedman noted that if you’re acquiring one or two players, a $3.85MM cap hit going out might not match up with the incoming money for Columbus. They currently hold a little over $11MM in cap space for 2026-27. Even if you do give a substantial pay increase to Marchenko, take into account that it’ll be well above $20MM for both annually for the foreseeable future.