Blue Jackets Open Extension Talks With Mathieu Olivier

Rugged winger Mathieu Olivier is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time this summer.  However, it appears he’s open to remaining in Columbus as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Olivier’s camp and the Blue Jackets have engaged in preliminary discussions about a contract extension.

The 27-year-old is in his sixth NHL season and over the first five, he rightly earned a reputation as a typical fourth-line pugilist.  While he chipped in a bit more offensively after being acquired by Columbus back in 2022, his career-high in goals heading into this season was only five.

However, Olivier has found another gear offensively in 2024-25.  He already has eight tallies through the first 26 games of the season and while his 25.8 shooting percentage is certainly bound to come down, there’s a good chance he’ll pass the double-digit mark in that regard while also eclipsing his previous best for points (15 set back in 2022-23).  On top of that, Olivier is also seeing a bit more shorthanded action per game, logging a little under a minute a night on average, helping boost his overall ATOI past 13 minutes a night, another benchmark.

Heading into the season, it looked like Olivier might be in line for a small raise on his current $1.1MM price tag, potentially landing him in the $1.25MM to $1.5MM range on a multi-year deal.  Now, while his current start is likely unsustainable, it wouldn’t be shocking to see his new AAV start with a two.  Though that’s a higher price to pay for someone who is arguably best suited as a fourth liner, the Blue Jackets could certainly afford to pay a premium for Olivier’s services in the short term with the team having less than $47MM on the books for 2025-26, per PuckPedia.  We’ll see in the coming weeks if the two sides can find common ground on a deal to keep him in Columbus for the foreseeable future.