Report: 'Anyone's Guess' On Cost To Keep Fantilli; GM Addresses Offer Sheet Potential

It's been over a week since the Anaheim Ducks matched the blockbuster $18M AAV Leo Carlsson offer sheet, setting a new standard for what young star players are worth in this market. 

But things have been eerily quiet on the Adam Fantilli front since then. The Columbus Blue Jackets' young center was selected at No. 3, right after Carlsson, in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and has posted similar numbers to this point in their short careers.

Is there an offer sheet coming for Fantilli? Or will the Jackets do the prudent thing and act quickly to get the RFA signed? Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch says predicting what Fantilli will get on his next contract is not an easy task. 

Getting Fantilli’s signature on a contract with an average annual value between $10-12 million, even short term, no longer feels realistic... Now, it's anyone's guess how much it might take to keep him. 

Fantilli’s asking price has almost certainly shot up since Carlsson’s offer sheet, which could put the Blue Jackets in a bind.

"That's fair to say," Blue Jackets president & GM Don Waddell said, per Hedger. "The price of RFAs went up, and now it's up to us to find a fair deal for all our RFAs."

Sure, they have over $23 million in cap space. But in addition to Fantilli, Columbus must also sign two other RFAs, forward Cole Sillinger and goalie Jet Greaves, both of whom have filed for arbitration. If those two come in at about $8 to $9M of cap space combined, as projected by AFP Analytics, the Jackets would have about $14M of space left over for Fantilli. 

For that reason, Hedger feels they should take care of their most important player as soon as possible so they know what they're dealing with. 

"Getting the biggest piece of the remaining pie settled would provide a better idea of where the payroll is likely to climb starting next season while eliminating the threat of a gigantic offer sheet on Fantilli after paying Greaves and Sillinger."

Blue Jackets say they will match any offer sheet for Fantilli

As for any threat of said offer sheet, the GM essentially is telling teams not to bother. They'll be matching.

"100%, it's hard to replace these young players," Waddell said. "He'll be 22 in August, and it's hard to replace these kind of guys with the upside that Adam's got, and he continues to take strides, so he's an important piece."

Fantilli finished his third season in the NHL with a career high 35 assists and 59 points along with 139 hits, in 82 games.