Free agency is now less than a week away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Blue Jackets.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Jake Bean – A couple of years ago, the Blue Jackets made a move for Bean with the hope that he could become a longer-term option on the back end. His first season went well before injuries were a significant issue in 2022-23. This season, Bean was able to stay healthy but struggled while remaining limited in a third-pairing role. At 26 with nearly 200 career NHL games under his belt, there is definitely a role for him on an NHL roster. However, is he worth $2.8MM and granting him arbitration rights? This is the decision that GM Don Waddell has to weigh. If you’re wondering which way he might be leaning, remember that Waddell was the GM who moved him to Columbus in the first place.
F Kent Johnson – After a strong showing in his first full NHL campaign in 2022-23 that saw him put up 40 points in 79 games, expectations were high for the 2021 fifth-overall pick heading into the season. However, he wound up not making the team out of training camp and when he was recalled later on, offensive success was harder to come by. To make matters worse, he suffered a torn labrum in late February, ending his season prematurely while also affecting his offseason training. It’s safe to say that he’s heading for a bridge contract and as a 10.2 (c) player, the Blue Jackets don’t have to worry about any potential threat of an offer sheet as he’s not eligible for one.
F Kirill Marchenko – The Blue Jackets haven’t had much success in the goal-scoring department in recent years but Marchenko is one of the exceptions. The 23-year-old scored 21 goals in 59 games in his rookie year and followed it up with a 23-goal effort in 2023-24. If Waddell is inclined to hand out a long-term agreement this summer, Marchenko is probably the candidate to receive it. Otherwise, he could also be heading for a bridge deal. Since he has arbitration rights, there’s a good chance that the agreement will push past the $3MM mark.
F Cole Sillinger – After a sophomore year to forget, Sillinger had a good bounce-back campaign, getting back around the numbers he had in his rookie year, notching 13 goals and 19 assists while improving at the faceoff dot and taking a regular turn on the penalty kill. While it’s not the numbers they were hoping for from the 2021 first-rounder, Sillinger at least appears to be back on the upswing. Once again, a short-term second contract is expected, one that should surpass $2MM per season.
F Alexandre Texier – After spending 2022-23 in Switzerland and having his contract tolled, Texier returned to Columbus and put up a career-best 30 points albeit with a lower point-per-game rate than in 2021-22. There have been times when he has looked like a capable top-six piece but he hasn’t been able to play at that level consistently enough to stay there. Accordingly, another short-term agreement is likely heading his way though he should get a raise from his $1.75MM salary which also serves as his qualifying offer.
Other RFAs: F Tyler Angle, D Marcus Bjork, D Jake Christiansen, G Jet Greaves, F Alexander Nylander
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Nick Blankenburg – It’s a pretty thin crop of pending unrestricted free agents which isn’t much of a surprise for a rebuilding team. Blankenburg isn’t even a typical UFA as he qualifies as a Group Six free agent as a player who is 25 or older, has at least three professional seasons, and less than 80 NHL appearances. Blankenburg was a full-timer on the NHL roster in 2022-23 but spent the bulk of this season in the minors where he also battled injury trouble. Still, as someone who has had a bit of success at the top level (18 points in 55 games while logging over 18 minutes a night on average) and being a right-shot defenseman, Blankenburg should have fairly strong interest on the open market.
D Jakub Zboril – Zboril didn’t see any NHL action in 2023-24, instead splitting time between the AHL affiliates for Boston and Columbus. Part of that could be attributable to the seven-figure cap hit he had, something that shouldn’t be the case next season. The 27-year-old has 76 career NHL games under his belt and should have interest on two-way offers. However, if he feels that the AHL is his likeliest destination, it’s also possible that he will consider his options overseas.
Other UFAs: F Joshua Dunne, F Brendan Gaunce, F Carson Meyer, G Malcolm Subban, D Billy Sweezey
Projected Cap Space
Cap space won’t be an issue for the Blue Jackets this summer as they enter the offseason with $21.675MM in spending room. None of their pending restricted free agents are poised to command a pricey contract although there are enough of them to put a dent into that figure. Nonetheless, there is enough room for them to try to make a splash this summer if Waddell wants to put his stamp on his new team early.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Yeah, this team is chock full of third-liners pretending to be top-sixers. Prediction: Waddell uses some of that cap space to overpay for second-liners pretending to be top-liners, and will get third-line production out of them. Columbus just seems to have that Zone of Mediocrity that swallows all that approach.