Report: Blue Jackets to sign Ivan Provorov to seven-year contract extension

The Columbus Blue Jackets are nearing a seven-year contract extension with defenseman Ivan Provorov that carries an $8.5-million average annual value, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Through 82 games with the Blue Jackets last season, the 28-year-old Russian-born rearguard finished with seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points to rank second in team scoring among defensemen behind Zach Werenski. With it, Provorov also registered 31 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating while averaging more than 23 minutes of time on per game.

Provorov has spent the last two seasons with the Blue Jackets following his acquisition from the Metropolitan Division rival Philadelphia Flyers during the 2023 offseason. Per PuckPedia, Provorov was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, having recently completed a six-year contract worth $6.75 million per season.

Originally chosen seventh overall by the Flyers in the 2015 NHL Draft, Provorov has since skated in 696 career contests with the Flyers and Blue Jackets in which he has put up 77 goals and 205 assists for 282 points. Provorov has also added three goals and eight assists for 11 points through 22 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Provorov rejoins a Blue Jackets squad that concluded the 2024-25 season with a 40-33-9 record and 89 points to fall two points shy of the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets last qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020.

Entering the 2025 offseason, the Blue Jackets have several pending unrestricted free agents including forwards James van Riemsdyk, Sean Kuraly, Christian Fischer, Kevin Labanc, Luke Kunin, and Justin Danforth, as well as defensemen Jack Johnson and Jordan Harris. The Blue Jackets also have a pair of soon-to-be restricted free agents in fellow forwards Dmitri Voronkov and Mikael Pyyhtia, according to PuckPedia.