Blue Jackets finish emotional season with romp over Islanders
Blue Jackets finish just shy of the playoffs after routing Islanders in season finale, salute fans amid postgame chants of ‘Johnny Hockey!’
The Blue Jackets have 10 weeks to figure out what to do about nine unrestricted free agents before the start of free agency at noon July 1.
They also have three restricted free agents who could lapse beyond that date before getting a contract resolution, so a Blue Jackets front office led by president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell has another busy spring/summer ahead.
There’s plenty of time to hash it all out, but there’s also no time to waste. Here’s an early look at three things that could happen with the Blue Jackets in free agency:
Columbus Blue Jackets have 12 unrestricted free agents to assess
There are nine unsigned, unrestricted free agents on the Blue Jackets’ NHL roster starting the offseason — six forwards and three defensemen.
Waddell included defensemen Dante Fabbro and Ivan Provorov among the “obvious ones” he hopes to re-sign, and there’s a solid argument to be made for keeping power forward James van Riemsdyk too. That leaves a pool of six UFAs — five forwards and depth defenseman Jack Johnson — as potential subtractions.
Those who’ll likely be looking for a new team include forwards Luke Kunin, Christian Fischer and Kevin Labanc plus Johnson on defense. How much the Blue Jackets want to keep veteran forwards Sean Kuraly, the Jackets’ fourth line center, and versatile forward Justin Danforth is unknown.
There’s also a chance all nine UFAs will hit the open market and the Jackets fill their roles through free agency, trades or internal promotions.
Columbus Blue Jackets must evaluate options with restricted free agents
Dmitri Voronkov, Jordan Harris and Daniil Tarasov will also become free agents if they’re not re-signed by July 1, but they’re restricted while having arbitration rights. The Blue Jackets still own their rights, so Waddell will ultimately decide what happens.
Voronkov is the biggest piece of the puzzle among the three, skating at left wing on the top forward line for most of the season and finishing with a career-high 23 goals. He scored 18 goals as a rookie, and his asking price could be sizable compared to his experience level — especially with a listed size of 6 feet 5, 227 pounds.
Harris, a depth defenseman, and Tarasov, the Jackets’ backup goalie behind Elvis Merzlikins, will be interesting situations to track. Waddell said during his season-ending press conference that Tarasov, who’s 6-5, still has a high, untapped potential despite losing head coach Dean Evason’s confidence to end the season. A “status quo” in net is even a possibility starting next season.
Harris is in a similar boat. After getting scant ice time during Evason’s first season running the Blue Jackets’ bench, it’s fair to wonder whether Waddell will keep Harris or make him a UFA by declining to extend a qualifying offer. That’s what he did with former Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean in the 2024 offseason, so it’s a possibility.
Not tendering a qualifying offer to Tarasov would be surprising given his position and the potential that inherently exists with his size, athleticism and resume from prior seasons.
Columbus Blue Jackets can afford to chase impact players
The Blue Jackets currently have 15 players on their NHL roster under contract for next season at a total of $51.5 million against the league’s salary cap.
The ceiling is getting a major bump from $88 million to $95.5 million in 2025-26, so Waddell and his staff have a whopping $44 million in cap space to fill out the roster. They must be judicious, keeping enough available to retain a handful of high-end youngsters led by Adam Fantilli, but there will be plenty of breathing room to chase impact players July 1 in free agency.
The snag in that plan is that a boost in cap space could also shrink the overall talent level of the NHL’s free-agent pool after teams use it to keep their own pending UFAs. Should the Toronto Maple Leafs fail to re-sign elite playmaking forward Mitch Marner, the Blue Jackets should be positioned to put the most enticing monetary package on the table in front of him.
Other unsigned UFAs who could give the Jackets’ roster a boost in July include Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolai Ehlers, Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane, Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson and Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene (formerly of the Blue Jackets).
Having a lot of cap space could also help the Blue Jackets complete trades for high-priced players and explore the RFA market for potential contract offer sheet deals — which force teams to either match the offer sheet or give up their rights to the player in exchange for draft pick compensation.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social