Report: Blue Jackets Adam Fantilli A Target Of The Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers' bold move to offer sheet Anaheim Ducks top-line center Leo Carlsson has sent reverberations throughout the NHL. The move has reset baseline contracts for other players in his draft class, including Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli. 

All three were drafted with the first three picks in the draft: Carlsson after Bedard, and Fantilli the 3rd OA pick in 2023. 

His trajectory hasn't been the same as his peers, as we've seen this season where Carlsson would begin to break out, scoring 29 goals and 67 points in 70 games as a Duck. 

General manager Danny Brier got bold and sent an offer sheet to the Ducks' Carlsson with an average annual value of $18 M. Now, with the rise in offer sheets this postseason, GM Don Waddell and the Blue Jackets have pushed their timetable to sign their 1C, Adam Fantilli, as a result.

This is in fear that if the Flyers miss on the chance to secure Carlsson, he's their next target, per The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. 

The Blue Jackets are continuing to talk with Fantilli and are hopeful of getting a deal struck before another club steps into the fray, like the Flyers did with Carlsson. If the Flyers are blocked by the Ducks, who’s to say they won’t turn their sights toward Fantilli?

“If an offer sheet comes along, we’re in a situation where we’ve got lots of cap space,” Waddell said. “If it happened, we’re able to match anything. I don’t expect it, but you never know in this business.”

 Fantilli's $950K AAV contract has expired, and he is a restricted free agent of the Blue Jackets. With recent moves by GMDB of the Flyers, the urgency to sign their top draft pick in 2023 is there. 

In 2025-26, he scored 24 goals and 59 points and is poised to be the Blue Jackets' 1C in the future. 

While we suspect Fantilli won't fetch as much as Carlsson or Bedard in the future, the market has been reset for better or worse. 

Per Union and Blue, we could expect a more modest cap hit for Fantilli: 

If the Jackets were to match that cap percentage, Adam's long-term contract would come in at 8 years, with an AAV of roughly $13 million per year. More likely, I think it comes in a little bit lower. I would make an educated guess of around $11.5-$12m per year. There may be some sticker shock if that's the case, but I think he will be worth every penny. This is the kind of guy you can build your entire team around.

The sticker shock of Carlsson's new contract won't wear off any time soon, considering he's set to be paid more than Connor McDavid this early in his career.