After a long delay, the Columbus Blue Jackets have finally reached an agreement with restricted free agent Adam Fantilli, ending his holdout from training camp.
Insider Elliotte Friedman reported on Thursday afternoon that the Blue Jackets have signed Fantilli to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $13.75 million worth a total of $82.5 million. Moments later, the signing was confirmed by the team via press release.
Fantilli, 21, was one of the last three restricted free agents waiting for a new contract. Defensemen Alexander Nikishin of the Carolina Hurricanes and Simon Edvinsson of the Detroit Red Wings are the final players waiting to sign with their team.
Fantilli signed the fifth-most valuable contract of the summer, trailing just Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini, Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard.
Fantilli’s Career to Date
The third-overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft trailing aforementioned Bedard and Carlsson, Fantilli immediately stepped into the NHL and became a key piece of the Blue Jackets’ core during the 2023-24 season.
During his rookie season, Fantilli was limited to just 49 games, but during that time he registered 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists) while having the seventh-highest ice time per game amongst Blue Jackets forwards.
The following season, Fantilli hit a couple of major milestones. He played in all 82 games for the first time in his career, surpassed the 30-goal plateau for the first time and finished with a positive plus-minus. All-in-all, it was an impressive sophomore season for the Ontario, Canada native. His ice time also jumped tremendously in his second season, as he was now the fourth-most utilized forward in then-head coach Dean Evason’s system.
The 2025-26 season was a difficult one for the Blue Jackets as a whole, and Fantilli isn’t excluded from that. Although he had the second-highest usage amongst Columbus forwards, trailing just Kirill Marchenko, his goal scoring dropped significantly although his assist numbers improved. He once again appeared in all 82 games, recording a career-high 59 points (24 goals and 35 assists) in the process. While it was a step forward, it was a fairly minute step.
An Interesting Deal
Fantilli’s contract is an interesting one on the surface. This summer, Carlsson and Celebrini set the new market value for a first line center. Considering Fantilli is getting roughly $4 million less per season than those players, it seems Fantilli’s value could be what we see for second line centers moving forward. Of course, the Blue Jackets are hoping he turns into more than that, but he didn’t take a significant step forward during his third NHL season which could cast some doubts on him ever becoming a true top-line center.
He’s currently the Blue Jackets’ first-line center, there’s no question about that moving forward. Now it’s a matter of whether he’s able to put himself in the same breath as Celebrini and Carlsson or if he’s going to permanently fall into the second, or even third, tier of center in the NHL. Only time will truly tell, but now he can get back to work and prepare for the 2026-27 season which is right around the corner.
Columbus Blue Jackets Finally Reach an Agreement With Adam Fantilli