Blue Jackets Sign Adam Fantilli To Six-Year Deal

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Adam Fantilli to a six-year, $82.5MM contract extension per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Columbus later confirmed the deal. The deal will carry a $13.75MM cap hit and brings Fantilli back to the team four days before final rosters are due. Six years of term will walk Fantilli to unrestricted free agency, and potentially a big payday, ahead of his age-27 season in 2032-33.

Fantilli will finally secure his deal after briefly sitting out of team activities at training camp. Talks of his desire for term and price clouded much of Columbus’ late-summer. Fantilli did have to come down on his ask, general manager Don Waddell shared on Columbus’ 97.1 The Fan. In the end, he will still secure a cap hit above Anaheim Ducks restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier, who signed a six-year, $81MM contract on September 15th.

Fantilli’s new deal will put the Blue Jackets roughly $1.2MM over the salary cap, per PuckPedia. They should have no trouble finding their way back under the cap ceiling, though, after placing  goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on long-term injured reserve. That move would open roughly $3.9MM in cap flexibility, provided Merzlikins is placed on temporary LTIR rather than season-ending LTIR.

This move gives Fantilli the highest cap hit on the Blue Jackets – over two-times the cost of the next-highest-paid forward, Valeri Nichushkin, who carries a $6.13MM hit. The 21-year-old Fantilli earns that price tag after a strong run on his entry-level contract. He joined the Blue Jackets in the 2023-24 season, immediately following his third-overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. Fantilli was a quick impact, securing 27 points and 63 hits in 47 games through his rookie season.

That performance established Fantilli in Columbus’ top-six. His second season boosted him to the top-line. Fantilli finished the 2024-25 campaign with 31 goals, 54 points, 56 shot blocks, and 113 hits while playing in all 82 games. He finished the year with the most goals on the team; as well as the third-most blocks, and fifth-most hits among Columbus forwards. Fantilli took a step back in goal-scoring in the 2025-26 season but still performed as one of the Blue Jackets’ best forwards. He finished the year second on the team in goals (24), third in points (59), and third in hits (139).

Fantilli hasn’t transformed into a franchise-leader in the vein of his draft-day peers, Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard. He has, nonetheless, formed a dynamic tandem with winger Kirill Marchenko that provides the Blue Jackets’ top-line with multiple ways to score. Fantilli’s mix of offensive upside and physicality is distinct, with the young center ranked third on the Blue Jackets in both total points (140) and hits (315) since his debut in 2023. Those traits have established Fantilli’s top-line role, while a 49.8 faceoff percentage on 1,108 draws last season helped him prove his ability to hold down the top-center role.

With a new deal secured, Fantilli will now need to pull it all together. He has proved capable of a 30-goal and 30-assist season but hasn’t yet passed the 60-point mark. Next to Marchenko and the newly-added Nichushkin, Fantilli should be able to blow well past that mark while continuing to stand as a bruiser on the top-line. That performance would secure Fantilli’s role as the leader of Columbus’ next generation, and speak to his continued growth, still years removed from his prime.