3 Teams Urged to Sign Adam Fantilli To Offer Sheet

It's been nearly two months since the Philadelphia Flyers turned the hockey world on its ear by signing Leo Carlsson to an astronomical offer sheet of an $18 million AAV over five years. The Anaheim Ducks matched, but the seismic effects have been felt on contracts across the league. 

One of the seemingly more difficult negotiations still ongoing, is the Columbus Blue Jackets trying to get their own first-line center, and the man selected right after Carlsson, at #3 in the 2023 NHL Draft, Adam Fantilli signed. 

One year ago, the talk of signing Fantilli to an eight-year, $8M AAV extension seems utterly laughable now. Earlier this month, a report had the Jackets looking to be in the neighborhood of a $12M AAV, but that is now a difficult sell for the team to the player's camp. 

Which leaves open the possibility of another blockbuster offer sheet still looming. Ryan Lambert of The Hockey News has suggested three teams who have the wherewithal and/or the need to pitch a Carlsson-like offer sheet to Fantilli:

Detroit Red Wings

The Wings have $19.5 million in cap space, and all of their first-round picks for the next four years, both requisites to make the necessary offer sheet to get a deal done. With current top-line center Dylan Larkin wanting out, if they can work out a trade for him, they could bring back some of the lost draft capital, and then install Fantilli as their new top center. 

There are two issues at play here, however: No. 1, as Lambert notes, the Wings currently don't have a satisfactory offer for Larkin.

"If an offer sheet fails, Detroit and Columbus could loop in a third team (like the Minnesota Wild) to make the talent moves and the money work better for everyone, since Larkin prefers to win now."

And No. 2: The Wings still don't have a new hockey ops boss/GM in place. Any type of deal (or offer) of this magnitude won't be happening until that gets taken care of. 

Seattle Kraken

Here's a team that has been desperate to bring in a star up front for some time now. And you sure can't blame them for not trying. The Kraken tried to woo Artemi Panarin when he was on the trade block from the NY Rangers last season, but the Bread Man picked LA as his destination. Then Seattle made a massive $15M AAV sign-and-trade offer with the Dallas Stars this offseason for RFA Jason Robertson. But the player said, 'Thanks, but no thanks.'

Maybe the Kraken take another big swing here on Fantilli? 

"An $18-million offer sheet would edge them right up against the salary cap limit, but the team might also have a trade solution to work on," writes Lambert. "The Kraken seemingly want to move on from Shane Wright. Would Wright-plus-picks-and-prospects be more attractive for Columbus than four firsts?"

Calgary Flames

Now well into a full-on rebuild, finding a young, No. 1 center to grow with the team seems like a top priority. Fantilli would make a ton of sense for them. But they have only $14.8M in cap space, not enough "to blow Fantilli out of the water," as Lambert notes. They'd have to get off some money first, and they do have some veterans they'd be looking to move on from. 

All in all, just like in Anaheim, one would expect that the Blue Jackets would do whatever they can to match any Fantilli offer. But their current $12.6M in cap space would mean that some roster surgery will be in order to get a contract done with their young center—offer sheet or no offer sheet.