The Blue Jackets are facing another long offseason, but president/GM Don Waddell has already crossed a big item off his spring/summer to-do list.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets agree to contract extension with coach Rick Bowness
The Blue Jackets announced April 16 that coach Rick Bowness, hired Jan. 12 in a mid-season shakeup, will return with a one-year contract extension. That takes care of a big task for Waddell, who could’ve been hunting for a third coach in two years had it not worked out.
Now, rather than conducting a coaching search, he can start on the rest of his offseason tasks. Here’s what’s ahead for Waddell and his front office:
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) reacts beside center Charlie Coyle (3) and left wing Mason Marchment (17) after scoring a goal during the NHL game against the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on March 19, 2026. The Blue Jackets won 6-3.
Columbus Blue Jackets have six NHL unrestricted free agents
The big four here are captain Boone Jenner, center Charlie Coyle, forward Mason Marchment and defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
Re-signing all four is unlikely. The greatest challenges will probably be keeping Coyle and Marchment. A more sentimental question is whether Jenner, who’s played his first 13 NHL seasons in Columbus, has played his final game with the Blue Jackets?
Time will tell, but Waddell can jump straight into the UFA situation now that Bowness is returning.
“If I had to go hire a coach, it would be months,” Waddell said. “As we all know, it doesn’t happen overnight. So, to get Rick to come back this next year certainly helps us as we move forward with all our players, but more importantly, our UFAs.”
Danton Heinen, a depth forward acquired along with draft picks in a trade that sent Yegor Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins, also merits consideration for a new contract. Depth defenseman Brendan Smith is a pending UFA as well, along with seven players currently playing in the AHL for the Cleveland Monsters.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) shoves Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena on March 29, 2026.
Columbus Blue Jackets have four NHL restricted free agents
Waddel has an intriguing group of unsigned restricted free agents at the NHL level.
The top three are Adam Fantilli, the Jackets’ top center, goalie Jet Greaves and forward Cole Sillinger. Yegor Zamula, who handled a depth defenseman role, is the fourth.
Getting Fantilli a new deal is by far the most important of the group, but Greaves eventually earned the No. 1 goaltending role ahead of Elvis Merzlikins and Sillinger has become a versatile young forward who contributes at high levels in every way but scoring goals.
Inking Fantilli and Greaves could be the biggest difficulties for Waddell, who has asked the team’s salary-cap experts to project future salaries for the next few years that include several big increases.
May 29, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Don Waddell speaks to reporters after being hired as president of hockey operations and general manager for the Columbus Blue Jackets during a media press conference at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus Blue Jackets will monitor NHL free agent, trade markets
The NHL’s cap ceiling is poised to take another massive leap upward from $95.5 million this season to $104 million in 2026-27, which means the vast majority of teams should be rife with cap space to re-sign pending UFAs and RFAs.
If that’s how it plays out, good luck finding impact talent on the UFA market when the July 1 start of free agency arrives. Regardless, the Blue Jackets’ front office will monitor a pool of potential UFA and trade targets who could bolster their NHL roster depth or replace UFAs who aren’t re-signed.
Columbus Blue Jackets will finalize NHL draft scouting
The Blue Jackets will send scouts to Slovakia for the upcoming U18 men’s world championships held April 22 through May 2 in Trencin and Bratislava. Waddell usually attends part of the tournament, too, since most of the top draft-eligible prospects compete in it.
Some prospects are also evaluated at the annual NHL scouting combine in Buffalo, which is usually held in late May and/or the first week of June. Buffalo will be the headquarters of the draft June 26-27, but teams are making their selections remotely for the second straight year.
Going into the NHL draft lottery on May 5, the Blue Jackets are 14th in the picking order. The maximum number of spots they can move up by winning the lottery is 10 spots, while the most they can drop is two spots.
So, the highest pick they could potentially land is fourth overall, and the lowest they’ll pick is 16th overall. Last year, they moved back from 13th overall to 14th after the lottery.
Apr 16, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Luca Del Bel Belluz (65) brings the puck up ice during the first period of the NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Nationwide Arena.
Cleveland will again host postseason hockey with the Monsters clinching a spot in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs.
While they don’t have as many high-ranking prospects as previous years, there’s a contingent of youngsters who’ve either played for the Blue Jackets already or may crack the NHL in the near future.
Luca Del Bel Belluz leads the group, which also includes forward Luca Pinelli, forward Mikael Pyyhtia, forward James Malatesta, defenseman Luca Marrelli, defenseman Corson Ceulemans, defenseman Stanislav Svozil and defenseman Charlie Elick.
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) puts his helmet on in the second period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, March 28, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
One thing Waddell has made abundantly clear since he took over in Columbus is that he can’t stand dead money on the books. Buying remaining years on player contracts falls into that category, and he doesn’t seem interested in taking that route.
That includes goalie Elvis Merzlikins, who has one year remaining on a five-year deal that carries a $5.4 million annual cap hit. Buying it out would free up cap space by adding another year of salary at a lower rate, while making Merzlikins an unrestricted free agent.
Rather than scouring through the UFA goalie market, the Blue Jackets are planning to return next season with Greaves and Merzlikins as their NHL tandem once again. Bowness also told Merzlikins to prepare for a goaltending competition at training camp if he wants to earn the No. 1 spot back from Greaves.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 6 offseason tasks for Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell’