What the current contracts tell us about the Blue Jackets’ timeline

On Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets completed the last bit of unfinished off-season business, with the signing of restricted free agent forward Cole Sillinger to a new contract worth a cap hit of $2.25M over the next two years.

After new general manager Don Waddell cut loose some bottom-of-the-roster talent and signed the RFAs to short-term bridge deals – and with the trade of Patrik Laine on Tuesday freeing up significant cap space – it’s time to look at when the current contracts expire…and what that means for the timeline for the Blue Jackets to be competitive again.

Notes:

• This isn’t a comprehensive list; I focused on the players currently on the roster and prospects currently under contract who have a higher likelihood of playing significant minutes in the NHL.
• I also did not include prospects still in college or who were just drafted this year, like Cayden Lindstrom.
• Credit, as always, to CapFri I mean, PuckPedia for the contract details.
• An asterisk indicates a restricted free agent. A double asterisk indicates a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
• This list indicates which players are due for a new contract in that particular off-season. Players are eligible for an extension a year before.

2025

Sean Kuraly
Mathieu Olivier
Justin Danforth
Hunter McKown*
Mikael Pyyhtia*
Dmitri Voronkov**
Trey Fix-Wolansky**

Ivan Provorov
Jack Johnson
Jake Christiansen
Jordan Harris**

Daniil Tarasov**

If a team is not contending for the playoffs, it’s fair game that pending UFAs are shopped. Provorov is the obvious choice to be moved, but we could also see any or all parts of our prospective fourth line moved. Voronkov and Tarasov are likely to be extended. Whether they get a bridge or a long term deal depends on how each handles a bigger workload this season.

2026

Boone Jenner
Cole Sillinger*
Yegor Chinakhov*
Adam Fantilli*
Gavin Brindley*
James Malatesta*

Erik Gudbranson
David Jiricek*
Corson Ceulemans*
Stanislav Svozil*

Jet Greaves**

This is the first big summer. Veterans Jenner and Gudbranson come off the books, and star youngsters Fantilli, Sillinger, Chinakhov, and Jiricek are due for their first extension.

2027

Kent Johnson*
Kirill Marchenko**
Luca Del Bel Belluz*
Jordan Dumais*

Denton Mateychuk*

Elvis Merzlikins
Nolan Lalonde*

2028

Zach Werenski

2029

Johnny Gaudreau
Sean Monahan

2030

None

Hey, perfect for bringing everyone back to defend our Stanley Cup title, right?

2031

Damon Severson

Goddamit, Jarmo.

Look, Severson is a solid player, but even in a better system he’s not going to be worth the $6.25M cap hit. Until 2031? Yeesh.

Position breakdown

Here is the breakdown of years remaining on the current contracts:

Conclusions

Looking at the current contracts, it seems like this team has two seasons to prove themselves. In 2026, Adam Fantilli, Yegor Chinakhov, Cole Sillinger, and David Jiricek will be due for new contracts. That is also when veterans like Boone Jenner and Erik Gudbranson come off the books. A year later, the other half of the core – Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, and Denton Mateychuk – will get new contracts (and hopefully have earned raises) when Elvis Merzlikins’ big contract expires (if it hasn’t been traded or bought out prior to then).

In the shorter term, the entire projected fourth line for this season are on expiring contracts, so that can be an easy way to bring in a lot of young talent into the NHL in the latter part of this season and into next season. Guys like Gavin Brindley, James Malatesta, Luca Del Bel Belluz, etc. Even if Jenner is kept on past this contract, he can slide down into a fourth line role and mentor the kids there.

I predict that a return to the playoffs will happen by 2026-27, and I won’t be surprised if it happens in 2025-26 instead (if we get some luck and the key pieces develop on schedule). The 2027-28 season will be especially important, as it will be the last year of Werenski’s contract. It may also be one of the last truly productive seasons for Gaudreau and Monahan. At the same time, the young core will have had enough experience to be in their prime.

There have been a lot of changes in the organization and to the roster this off-season. That can be unsettling for fans. That being said, it’s now clear how Don Waddell has cleared some obstacles and has set a course for the next few seasons. Young, talented players have the opportunity to earn their spots, and there is the cap room going forward to reward those who take advantage, and to supplement this group as necessary to get them to that next level.