- Aaron Portzline projects Fantilli lands a five-year deal worth $13 million to $13.5 million per season
- That number would set a franchise cap-hit record and eat up almost all of Columbus’s remaining space
- Read below for how Fantilli’s numbers stack up against Carlsson and Bedard
Adam Fantilli is still the last man standing in Columbus.
Nearly a month into free agency, the Blue Jackets center is their only unsigned restricted free agent, and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic just put a number on where it could land. Speaking on the Jason Gregor Show, Portzline projected Fantilli signs a five-year extension worth $13 million to $13.5 million per season.
A deal at that price would become the largest cap hit in franchise history and swallow almost all of the room Columbus has left for 2026-27.
The math shifted this summer. Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard, the two players taken ahead of Fantilli in the 2023 draft, both cashed in on big extensions in their first trip through restricted free agency. Bedard made it clear that no offer was pulling him out of Chicago.
Carlsson set the ceiling. He signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Flyers before Anaheim matched it, an $18 million cap hit that reset the market for young centers. Getting Fantilli done for nearly $5 million under that would count as a win for Don Waddell.
The production backs the ask. Fantilli has 67 goals and 140 points in 213 games. Carlsson sits at 61 goals and 141 points in 201 games. The two are nearly identical, even if Fantilli draws less national attention.
No team has thrown Fantilli an offer sheet, and there’s no indication he wants one. Columbus gets to sort this out on its own terms, and every signal points to the Jackets making him the centerpiece.
Kirill Marchenko might not even be around to see the deal. He is reportedly close to a trade, with Montreal in the mix for the winger.
Take a look at the player Columbus is about to pay like a franchise cornerstone in this highlight video:
Talks paused while Fantilli vacationed in Italy and are expected to pick back up soon. The Jackets have the cap space for one more big swing, and they are about to spend most of it on him.
