COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Don Waddell made a bold decision last winter when he opted to let all four of the Columbus Blue Jackets\u2019 prominent unrestricted free agents play through the early March trade deadline to avoid any disruptions in the dressing room.<\/p>\n
But those negotiations can\u2019t be punted down the road much further.<\/p>\n
The general manager\u2019s ability to re-sign center Charlie Coyle and Mason Marchment, and the decisions he makes regarding Boone Jenner and Erik Gudbranson, will likely be the story of the Blue Jackets\u2019 summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of contracts to get done, probably the most I\u2019ve ever had in my career at one time,\u201d Waddell said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a busy summer, but I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be a challenge for Waddell and for Laurence Gilman, the Blue Jackets\u2019 vice president of hockey operations, who was hired in the middle of the season after assistant GM Josh Flynn left to join former GM Jarmo Kek\u00e4l\u00e4inen in Buffalo. Gilman, like Flynn before him, will play a significant role in the negotiations.<\/p>\n
Coyle, Marchment, Jenner and Gudbranson are all free to sign elsewhere on July 1 if they don\u2019t remain in Columbus. There are others, too, most notably veteran winger Danton Heinen, who carved out a spot in the lineup once Rick Bowness took over in mid-January.<\/p>\n
The rest of the UFAs are defenseman Brendan Smith; minor-league forwards Brendan Gaunce, Hudson Fasching, Zach Aston-Reese and Owen Sillinger; and minor-league defenseman Dyson Mayo.<\/p>\n
There are prominent restricted free agents, too \u2014 Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Jet Greaves, to name a few \u2014 but those are a conversation for another day.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an outlook on each of the four big UFAs, ranked in order of their importance to the Blue Jackets, with a look at the contract considerations and challenges, and what each player has said about the possibility of returning:<\/p>\n
1. Charlie Coyle, C<\/p>\n
Age: 34 | Current salary cap hit: $5.25 million<\/p>\n
2025-26: 20 goals, 38 assists, 58 points in 82 games<\/p>\n
In Coyle\u2019s words: \u201cCould I see myself here? 100 percent. There are going to be some decisions, and we\u2019ll see how things shake out. There are a lot of unknowns with what\u2019s going on right now. I have to see what\u2019s going there, talk with my family, my people on my time and figure out what\u2019s next. But I really, really enjoyed my time here. I could see myself being here, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breakdown: Try not to be alarmed by Coyle\u2019s use of the past tense in some of his comments. This is an immensely important contract for the Blue Jackets, such that Coyle could be seen as having a blank check to set his terms. The biggest question will be the length of the contract for a 34-year-old with 1,032 NHL games under his belt.<\/p>\n
Coyle is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, and he\u2019d definitely be one of the top free agents available should he hit the market. That, plus his strong desire to win a Stanley Cup before he retires, are two big reasons it would make sense for him to test the market on July 1.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, expect the Blue Jackets to try and sign him as quickly as possible. The further away from the season he gets, the easier it is to start looking forward. And the longer he goes into summer unsigned, the more nervous Blue Jackets fans should be.<\/p>\n
Coyle played mostly a third-line role in Columbus, but he was so much more than that. On a club with 21-year-old center Adam Fantilli growing into a No. 1 role, and veteran No. 2 center Sean Monahan struggling to stay healthy and produce, Coyle\u2019s presence is of utmost importance. As the Blue Jackets know all too well, talented two-way centers are not just readily available in the NHL. If Coyle leaves, it will be a profound setback to the Blue Jackets\u2019 ability to compete in 2026-27.<\/p>\n
The Blue Jackets\u2019 decision to bring coach Rick Bowness back for next season could be very important in Coyle\u2019s decision. That\u2019s a good first step.<\/p>\n
2. Mason Marchment, LW\/RW<\/p>\n
Age: 30 | Current salary cap hit: $4.5 million<\/p>\n
2025-26: 19 goals, 26 assists, 45 points in 68 games (Seattle and Columbus)<\/p>\n
In Marchment\u2019s words: \u201cI really enjoyed my time here. The guys were great, the staff was great. There\u2019s been a lot of guys here for quite a long time, and they\u2019ve got a pretty good family group here. They all care about each other. Those are all huge pieces. The other (part of this) is, we have a good team here. It\u2019s a good team, a playoff team. It sucks we\u2019re not in it, but I think it\u2019s a playoff team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breakdown: Marchment cooled down the stretch of the season (didn\u2019t everybody?) but he brought a burst of offense with him after the mid-December trade from Seattle, totaling 15-17-32 in only 39 games.<\/p>\n
Upon his arrival in Columbus, he joined Fantilli and right winger Kirill Marchenko on the Blue Jackets\u2019 top line. That trio thrived until mid-March, when the real jockeying for playoff position began across the NHL.<\/p>\n
With wingers Kent Johnson and Michael Garland expected to hold top-six or top-nine jobs next season, having Marchment\u2019s size (6-foot-5, 212 pounds) and sandpaper in the lineup becomes that much more important.<\/p>\n
Marchment turns 31 in June, meaning this should be seen as his last, best chance to land an optimized, long-term contract that will carry him through his prime.<\/p>\n
3. Boone Jenner, C\/W<\/p>\n
Age: 32 | Current salary cap hit: $3.75 million<\/p>\n
2025-26: 13-25-38 in 67 games<\/p>\n
In Jenner\u2019s words:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s between my agent and Don. I\u2019ll let them sort that out. But what I can comment on is \u2026 playing in front of these fans, and how much that means to me, just playing for this organization. I\u2019ve never taken it for granted. It\u2019s always been an honor to put on the Blue Jackets sweater and be a Blue Jacket. We\u2019ll see where the rest goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breakdown: Jenner has been the Blue Jackets\u2019 captain for the past five seasons, and he\u2019s been a big part of the fabric of this organization since 2013.<\/p>\n
Nobody\u2019s played more games in Columbus (808), nobody\u2019s worn a letter longer (11 seasons), and few players get their own serenade in Nationwide Arena (Boooooooone!) when they play their way onto the scoresheet.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an emotional attachment to Jenner for many, which could make this a delicate play. But it\u2019s not an easy call.<\/p>\n
The injuries have started to pile up for Jenner, who hasn\u2019t played more than 70 games in any of the last seven seasons. His ice time has dropped by about two minutes per game in each of the last two seasons, settling at 16:04 this season, the lowest since his rookie season (2013-14).<\/p>\n
Once Bowness arrived, Jenner began to see fourth-line duty, although he had played his way back into the top six by the end of the season following injuries to Dmitri Voronkov and Mathieu Olivier.<\/p>\n
If Jenner makes it to July 1, there will be no shortage of suitors, just as there have no been no shortage of trade offers for him at the NHL trade deadline going back several years. He\u2019s regarded as one of the NHL\u2019s hardest and most relentless workers. GMs around the league want him in their mix.<\/p>\n
Something else to consider: If the Blue Jackets reach a conclusion that Coyle is going to leave, perhaps their desire to hang on to Jenner is increased. The art of roster building has many moving parts.<\/p>\n
Erik Gudbranson, D<\/p>\n
Age: 34 | Current salary: $4 million<\/p>\n
2025-26: One goal, two assists, three points in 37 games<\/p>\n
In Gudbranson\u2019s words: \u201cThis is the place I\u2019ve called home for four years. My daughter was born here. We have family ties here. It\u2019s a very special place now for me and my family. You put the hockey part into it \u2026 we have unfinished business that I\u2019d like to be a part of. This (season) stings, really badly. You want to come back and fix it, sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breakdown:\u00a0This is a tricky one, because the Blue Jackets want to make changes on their back end. But Gudbranson fills two needs that help their defensive pairings make sense: he\u2019s physical and he\u2019s right-handed.<\/p>\n
Bowness likes having muscle in his lineup, and the Blue Jackets are very much a club \u2014 other than Gudbranson and Olivier \u2014 that would rather avoid the rough stuff than instigate it. Gudbranson is good muscle on the penalty kill, too.<\/p>\n
The veteran coach also likes lefty-righty pairs, and Gudbranson is one of only two regulars (Damon Severson is the other) who fire it on the starboard side. He\u2019s probably a third-pair defender or a No. 7 on a good club.<\/p>\n
Unlike with Coyle, the Blue Jackets are probably in an advantageous position with Gudbranson, who has played only 53 games combined over the last two seasons due to injuries.<\/p>\n
The term is likely to be limited, and Gudbranson may have to accept a pay cut \u2014 or the same salary \u2014 as his previous contact. Part of the investment here is for Gudbranson\u2019s presence and leadership in the dressing room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Don Waddell made a bold decision last winter when he opted to let all four…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,897,230,5179,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-557233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-columbus-blue-jackets","8":"tag-blue-jackets","9":"tag-bluejackets","10":"tag-columbus","11":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","12":"tag-columbusbluejackets","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116442650058551357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}