Waddell got the offseason off to a critical start last Thursday, inking Bowness to a new deal that ensures his return to lead the team for the 2026-27 season. Things aren’t about to get any easier, though, as Waddell’s calendar over the coming months figures to be pretty busy.
Eight players who spent time with the Blue Jackets this year – captain Boone Jenner, alternate captain Erik Gudbranson, Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment, Danton Heinen, Zach Aston-Reese, Brendan Gaunce and Brendan Smith – are set to become unrestricted free agents. In addition, four others – Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger, Jet Greaves and Egor Zamula – need new contracts as restricted free agents.
As the Blue Jackets figure out those contracts, they’ll also have to navigate the open market come July 1, look into any potential trades that can make the team better, and prepare for the NHL draft at the end of June.
So the possibility exists that the CBJ team that takes the ice when the season begins in September could look quite different than the one that finished this campaign. The first order of business will be the team’s internal free agents, especially given the lengthy list at hand.
“The unfortunate part is we’re not in the playoffs; the fortunate part is we have time on our side to make sure we make the right decisions,” Waddell said. “We’ll sit down, go through our roster and talk about those players. We have a lot of contracts to get done. It’s probably the most I’ve ever had in my career at one time with all the expiring RFAs – some big ones – and whichever UFAs we decide to try to get back, so it’s gonna be a busy summer. But I’m looking forward to it.”
According to PuckPedia, the Blue Jackets have more than $40 million in cap space available going into next season, but with so many contracts that must be signed – and how attractive such players as Coyle and Marchment will likely be on the market – the team must balance want and need with prudence and reality.
That’s especially true given such players as Kirill Marchenko, Denton Mateychuk, Kent Johnson and Dmitri Voronkov will be due new contracts after this upcoming season. With all that in mind, Waddell noted that the front office recently gathered to discuss a five-year plan for contracts based on where the team sits with the salary cap.
Jenner, Coyle, Marchment and Gudbranson all spoke on exit day about their desire to return to Columbus; how many of them are back, though, will depend on how negotiations go.
“The players all, to a man – I talked to them yesterday, all the free agents want to come back,” Waddell said. “But it doesn’t mean they’re all gonna come back. We do have some decisions to make. The salary cap is going up, but it’s amazing how fast you get there when you start talking about young players and some of the contracts they’re gonna get. You can’t just look at next year because you’re signing guys for six, seven, eight years.”
It’s also not hard to see where the Blue Jackets might want to improve in free agency or trades. A high-end offensive talent is on every team’s wish list, but that might be especially attractive to Columbus considering just four players reached 50 points this season. Depth on the back end could also be a target depending on what happens with Gudbranson, and size may also be on a desire considering how the injuries to Mathieu Olivier hurt the team both midseason and down the stretch (CBJ was 34-18-9 with him in the lineup, 6-12-3 without).
But there’s also the fact that much of the improvement could come from within, especially because the Blue Jackets have built around a young core featuring such names as Marchenko, Voronkov, Johnson, Fantilli, Sillinger and Mateychuk.
The last four are all 23 or younger and taken in the top 12 picks of the draft, and all had varying levels of success this season. Waddell said one of the big reasons he’s excited to have Bowness back is his ability to communicate and teach those young players who are expected to be mainstays of the franchise for years to come.
“I saw the steps some of the guys took since Rick took over,” Waddell said. “We’ve talked about the young players. Again, we need these young players to continue to grow because that’s gonna be our franchise for a lot of years. … I know how Rick operates and I know these guys. They’re gonna get better every day, and if they’re not getting better, I know Rick is gonna communicate with them what they need to do to get better.”
News and Notes
Johnson went from 24 goals and 57 points a season ago to seven tallies and 22 points this year, and Bowness noted he “was almost in tears, he feels so bad that he let people down” during the team’s exit meetings. The coach said he wants Johnson to add 10 to 12 pounds in the offseason that were the difference between the seasons, and the 2021 first-round pick is still just 23 years old. Waddell said Johnson remains a big part of the team’s plans going forward even after the adversity he faced this year. “Kent is probably the most skilled guy on our hockey team. … We’re not giving up and giving away (23)-year-old players,” Waddell said.
The ascension of Jet Greaves to the No. 1 spot in net meant Elvis Merzlikins went from 53 starts a year ago to 30 this season. Bowness said he had an extensive chat with the veteran goaltender during his exit meeting. “He told me he thinks he’s a No. 1. I said, ‘Good. Come to camp, be in great shape and prove it.’ We’ll give him every opportunity. He wants to fight for that No. 1 spot. Fight for it.” Merzlikins has one season left on his five-year contract, and Waddell said he likes the netminding duo that played every minute for the Jackets this year. “We feel pretty comfortable with the two guys we have going forward,” the GM said.
Coyle has positioned himself as quite the attractive piece on the free agent market, posting a 20-38-58 line, totals that were third, tied for first and tied for second, respectively, in his NHL career. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say he was way better than I thought he could even be,” Waddell said. “I’m probably walking myself into more money on the contract, but he’s an important part here.”
Bowness inherited assistant coaches Scott Ford, Mike Haviland and Jared Boll, as well as goalie coach Niklas Backstrom, when he took over in January and lauded how easy the quartet made his transition when he got to Columbus. “Give those guys a lot of credit. They all did a great job. … For them to work as hard as they did and jump right on board, it’s a tribute to them.” Bowness added there would be meetings with the group as he looks to finalize a coaching staff for the upcoming season.