The Columbus Blue Jackets took care of their biggest remaining piece of summer business on Saturday. From both a literal and figurative perspective, Dmitri Voronkov signing a two year bridge deal is big news.
In his second season in North America, the player we affectionately know as "Big Boss" emerged as a top line player for the Blue Jackets. After missing the start of the season due to a shoulder injury, he joined the lineup November 1st. Once he settled in, he was a huge difference maker for the club this year.
Dmitri played in 73 games, tying for fourth on the team in goals (23) and finishing sixth in total points (47). These numbers are really impressive when you consider the fact that he scored just one assist through his first six games of the season.
He surprised many of us by finding a niche on the team's top line. Playing alongside Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko, the trio formed one of the best two-way lines in the entire NHL. Time will tell if this success is sustainable or not, but Dmitri's size, reach, and net-front skill were very important traits for this line.
"We are very pleased to reach this agreement with Dmitri as he is an important part of our young core," said Waddell. "He has size, strength and excellent hands and has a chance to be a very special player. We look forward to his continued growth and development as a Blue Jacket."Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell
Sustainability is the question here, so a bridge deal makes a lot of sense. The Jackets would obviously be leery to lock up the big man long-term, based on the off chance that this season was just a mirage. In fact, in recent weeks we've heard his name come up in trade rumors, so many within the fanbase were concerned that we might have seen the last of Big Boss in Central Ohio.
Instead, the two sides agreed to a very reasonable two-year bridge contract. Immediately, Dmitri gets a huge raise off of his entry level contract. And, the Jackets keep his AAV to a reasonable $4.175 million dollars per year. In my opinion, this one is a little bit team-friendly. I predicted it to be a little bit higher:
Think it will work the other way around.
— Union and Blue (@UnionAndBlue) July 3, 2025
A short deal (2x4.5 or something); or a long-term deal (6x6) is probably what they need to work out.
This makes a lot of sense from all angles. Dmitri gets a chance to prove that he's worth more in a couple of years, while the Jackets get the benefit of having a guy who played on their top line stick around on a reasonable "show me" deal. The only way this bridge contract becomes a bad idea, is if Big Boss steps his game up even more and earns a bigger contract in the future. If that becomes true, it will be a good problem to have.
The Jackets will return the same top line next season, at a combined cap hit of $13,525,000. Not bad work by Don Waddell. Not bad at all.