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Adam Fantilli recorded his first NHL hat trick in front of his family and friends in Toronto. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Blue Jackets Should Try to Extend Adam Fantilli Long-Term

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By William Espy | Last updated Jul 19, 2025 4:15 PM ET

With the recent news surrounding Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager (GM) Don Waddell has quite a bit on his plate at this point. Once that gets resolved, though, his biggest priority should undoubtedly be getting Adam Fantilli’s second NHL contract squared away.

With Fantilli’s new deal, there are a couple of ways that Waddell can approach negotiations. The way that many around the league approach similar situations is short-term bridge deals that allow another contract to be signed while the player is still a restricted free agent. While it is a wise decision to get the most team control for a player, once in a while, the logical move is to commit to a player long-term out of the gate. There’s more risk to that approach, but with a player of Fantilli’s skill and potential, it seems like the right choice for the Blue Jackets at this point.

Why Fantilli Deserves a Long-Term Deal

At just 20 years old, Fantilli is already a 30-goal scorer at the NHL level. It’s not every day that a player breaks into the league and scores at such a high rate so quickly. Even Connor Bedard hasn’t achieved that milestone yet, although he’s certainly been stacking up points for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fantilli has a high work ethic, he’s already performing at a high level, and will only continue to improve as well. Not to mention the fact that he has the qualities of a leader, and could theoretically be a future captain of the Blue Jackets if his career goes to plan. As a result, showing him that management envisions him as the future face of the organization by offering him a long-term deal makes quite a bit of sense.

There are some negatives to signing any young player to a long-term deal; however, many of them will be overcome as long as Fantilli is able to keep developing at the current trajectory. A long-term contract will come with a higher cap hit right out of the gate, but it will be lower than it would be if he signs a bridge, scores 40 goals the next two seasons, and then is due for another new deal.

A Baseline for Negotiation

One recent example that would be somewhat comparable to Fantilli is Dylan Guenther with the Utah Mammoth; however, despite Guenther’s higher point-per-game totals prior to the signing date, Fantilli is more of a proven asset than the Mammoth forward was when he signed his contract. Add in the fact that Fantilli is also a center, and his value does go up a decent amount.

Guenther’s contract came in at an average annual value of $7.14 million. Fantilli’s would likely be in the range of $8-9 million due to positional differences and defensive responsibilities; however, it is at least a baseline.

If the Blue Jackets signed Fantilli to a short-term bridge, they could likely get him signed for between $5-6 million for the next two or three seasons, but the seasons after that could be in the eight-figure range per season, especially as the salary cap starts to rise.

Fantilli still has one more year left on his entry-level contract, but if Waddell is smart, he’ll get his extension done before the price continues to rise.

Committing a substantial amount of money and time to a 20-year-old player is always a risk, but based on Fantilli’s work ethic and personality, he seems to be as sure a bet as any young player in the league. Considering cap space isn’t an issue for the foreseeable future in Columbus, overpaying Fantilli for a few seasons would undoubtedly be worth the salary cap savings toward the end of the deal when the team is expected to be a true contender.