Heading into his 21st season in the NHL as a general manager, Blue Jackets president/GM Don Waddell has had only one player, Ilya Kovalchuk, miss time by holding out amid contract negotiations.
That happened while Waddell was the Atlanta Thrashers' GM, coming out of the NHL's 2004-05 lockout. Kovalchuk missed the Thrashers' entire training camp plus the first two games of the regular season as a restricted free agent and threatened to play the season in Russia.
Waddell settled it by re-signing the Russian star with a five-year deal worth nearly $32 million, and he hasn't dealt with a holdout since. That's pertinent now because the Blue Jackets have yet to re-sign RFA center
Adam Fantilli, their top center.
The start of training camp at Nationwide Arena is just over two weeks away (Sept. 16), so time is running out to make sure Fantilli, 21, doesn't go the Kovalchuk route as a holdout. Fans have become increasingly concerned each day that passes without a new contract for Fantilli, but Waddell isn't worried.
“No, not at all," he said. "We’re in communication. There’s a little difference of opinion right now, which is normal, and I’m confident that we’ll have him done before training camp.”
Columbus Blue Jackets seek common ground with Adam Fantilli
The price to re-sign Fantillishot up thanks to something completely out of the Blue Jackets' control, and it's the biggest factor in why the young star center isn't under contract.
The Philadelphia Flyers' decision to sign RFA center Leo Carlsson to a five-year offer sheet worth $90 million for an average annual value of $18 million sent shockwaves around the NHL, including Columbus. The Anaheim Ducks matched it, keeping the second pick of the 2023 draft atop their forward group, but ripples are fanning out.
Connor Bedard, picked first in 2023, re-signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on a five-year extension worth $75 million ($15 million AAV) on July 18 to leave Fantilli as the lone unsigned player chosen in the 2023 draft's top three picks. The Colorado Avalanche also made waves Aug. 28 signing star defenseman Cale Makar to an eight-year extension starting in 2027 that's worth $163.2 million and carries a $20.4 million average that's the highest any NHL player has gotten.
Considering Fantilli's numbers through his first three seasons are nearly identical Carlsson's, he stands to get a massive pay raise from the Blue Jackets. The only things left to determine are when it'll happen, how much he'll get and how long the deal will last.
The Blue Jackets want more than five years, but the price to get that done hasn't fallen within their budget plans. So they're at a stalemate caused primarily by Carlsson's offer sheet, which arbitrarily skyrocketed the market value for RFA stars.
"The long-term contracts are becoming more and more difficult to get done," Waddell said. "So, obviously, we’re trying to get as much term as we possibly can. That’s one of the differences we have, and then money is obviously a big part of it.”
Will Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli hold out?
Waddell feels the remaining gap between the two sides will get bridged before camp opens.
"Oh, for sure," he said. "I'm pretty confident that I don't think he wants to miss training camp and we don't want him to miss training camp.”
Still, Fantilli hasn't earned arbitration rights yet and holding out remains his lone negotiating leverage. It remains a possibility until he agrees to put his signature on a new contract. The Blue Jackets have gone down this road before with forward Josh Anderson, who missed the entire 2017-18 preseason before agreeing to a new deal with former GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
Former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella scratched Anderson for the season-opener against the Washington Capitals before reinserting him into the lineup. Emotional baggage from those negotiations stayed with Anderson and eventually played a role in his decision not to sign another extension with the Blue Jackets, prompting a trade to the Montreal Canadiens with one year left on his deal.
That's the last thing Blue Jackets and their fans want to happen with Fantilli, whose selection in 2023 prompted a team-sponsored watch party in Columbus to erupt like he'd gone first overall.
"The hope is more [than five years in term], but we’ll see how these negotiations all go," Waddell said. "You’ve got to get to where the money’s going to be, and then the term will come after that."
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell aims to ink Adam Fantilli before camp
