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Adam Fantilli is latest young player to cash in thanks to rising cap
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Blue Jackets' Adam Fantilli is latest young player to cash in thanks to rising cap

By Adam Gretz  |  Last updated Sep 24, 2026 7:52 PM ET
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It's been a good summer to be a young NHL player in need of a new contract.

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli became the latest player to cash in on Thursday, finally signing a new contract to get him into camp before the start of the 2026-27 season. 

The 21-year-old was one of three unsigned restricted free agents still remaining this preseason, and he was finally able to get a six-year, $82.5 million contract. That comes out to a $13.75 million salary-cap number that will make him, by average yearly salary, the fifth-highest-paid player in the NHL this season.

Blue Jackets pay Adam Fantilli, and now he has to produce

In terms of what Fantilli has done so far in the NHL, the $13.5 million salary-cap number seems like an outrageous number. In previous offseasons, it would have been. But the NHL has changed dramatically this summer due to the rapid rise of the league's salary cap in the coming seasons, as well as some of the other contracts that have already been signed.

Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson reset the market when he signed a five-year offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers that pays him $18 million per season. The Ducks matched the offer, keeping him in Anaheim, but it was clear from that point on that the contract game was about to change.

Four of the top-six salaries in the NHL this season belong to players age 22 or younger who signed their new deals this summer, all of whom have played less than 225 games in the NHL.

  • Carlsson, 21, with his $18 million per year salary, has appeared in 201 games and has a career-high of 29 goals and 67 points in a single season.
  • Connor Bedard, 21, signed a five-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks that will pay him $15 million per season. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick has appeared in 219 games over three years with a career-high of 30 goals and 75 total points in a single season.
  • Cutter Gauthier, 22, signed a six-year contract worth $13.5 million per season with the Ducks after playing just two full years in the NHL. He is coming off a 41-goal, 69-point season.

The San Jose Sharks also locked in Macklin Celebrini, 20, with a five-year deal worth $18.8 million per season, but it does not actually kick in until next season, at which point he will become the second-highest paid player in the league behind Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.

Fantilli, while a very good and productive player with upside, is probably the least proven of all the players on here and may not have the same upside. His upside is certainly lower than Celebrini's, who is already one of the best players in hockey, and is likely lower than Bedard's and Carlsson's. But everything we know about contracts this summer needs to be thrown out the window. It's a new era, a new market and everything is different now. The Blue Jackets had no choice but to pay up, and because the six-year contract is buying out two years of potential unrestricted free agency, they had to pay a little more per year. 

At least now it is over.

Now they just need him to keep getting better and deliver. 

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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