What Denton Mateychuk’s Next Contract Might Look Like

Denton Mateychuk is 31st in cap hit among NHL teams’ second-pair right-shot defensemen.

For a key young blue liner, Columbus will need to start considering that when looking at how much money they’ll allocate towards the player. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Mateychuk could be due for a bag. However, in speaking to Mateychuk’s agent, Scott Bonner, no talks have begun between either side, but there is an openness to discuss if the terms look right.

Why the discussion? Well, considering how many contracts have increased in AAV, especially for defensemen, it’s curious to wonder what the 22-year-old will look for. Entering his third NHL season, the final on a three-year entry-level contract, Mateychuk has provided a solid presence for the Jackets’ blue line, already averaging above 22 minutes of time on ice through the first four games of 2026-27.

After being selected 12th overall in the 2022 draft, he joined the Jackets after a midseason recall from AHL Cleveland, recording 13 points in 45 games in 2024-25, earning 12th place in Calder Trophy voting. 2025-26 was his first full campaign out of camp. He scored 13 goals for 31 points while maintaining just 16 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time. Portzline noted that Mateychuk scored 12 of his 13 goals at even strength, tied for ninth in the NHL among defenders along with Brent Burns, John Carlson, Josh Morrissey, Darren Raddysh, and Mattias Samuelsson.

Based on how much that has jumped this season, it’s fair to assume his offensive production will too. The 5’11” lefty has demonstrated his ceiling as a high-end top-four piece. He’s split last season between playing alongside veteran righty Damon Severson and seeing top-pair duties on his off side with Zach Werenski, ending fifth on the team with a +12 rating.

The Blue Jackets have nearly $24MM in cap space next summer. Looking at some comparables to Mateychuk, given the contracts that have been commanded by young defenseman, he probably won’t be 31st in pay among players in his role by that time. Zeev Buium’s $9.38MM AAV has become the peak among those names, and the lowest of those new contracts was the Sabres paying Olen Zellweger $3.1MM AAV. The majority of these contracts among U23 defensemen have been just above the $7MM range, with Brandt Clarke’s 40 points in 2025-26 earning him $7.4MM a year and Simon Nemec’s 26 points giving him around $7.25MM a year.

It should be noted that the Leo Carlsson $18MM offer sheet had an effect on how those deals were commanded. Zellweger’s deal was inked on July 1, two days before the infamous offer sheet. Carlsson’s effect saw the likes of even Pavel Mintyukov and Tristan Luneau both making $7.2MM annually, even though one has seen a lot more NHL time than the other. Mateychuk’s projected next deal via AFPAnalytics saw a long-term projection at seven years for a little over $8MM AAV.

Columbus also has a few free agents to consider, in the restricted department, Dmitri Voronkov and Kent Johnson, due for new deals as well, but it’s likely both are within ‘prove it’ status to determine their contracts. If they can lock up Mateychuk for an extended time, that would help solidify the future in Ohio, which already has Matthew Knies (acquired via the Kirill Marchenko trade to Toronto) and Adam Fantilli extended past 2030.