General Manager Don Waddell has a lot of work to do over the Olympic break. With 23 players in his organization on expiring contracts, now is the time for him to talk to agents and get a feel for where everyone sits. At the very top of his list: center Charlie Coyle.
Acquired by the Blue Jackets just before the NHL Draft last summer, I don't think many expected Charlie to have such a tremendous impact on this team. But, after just a few months in Central Ohio, he's proven extremely important, and I don't see how this team can progress without him.
The 33-year old entered the Olympic break sitting third on the team in scoring, with 15 goals and 42 points. He's played in all 56 games so far, and averages the fourth most time on ice amongst CBJ forwards (17:43 per game). He sees power-play and penalty kill time, on both top units.
Coyle has been the perfect supplement to the other centers on this roster. Adding him to the middle six has given the Jackets two capable veteran two-way centers that they can lean on.
By having both him and Sean Monahan, the Jackets have the luxury of throwing out a left or right shot center who can win faceoffs, and match up against any competition, in any situation. They eat up the harder minutes, and in a perfect world, open up more offensive opportunities for Adam Fantilli on the top line.
Charlie checks literally every box you want in a second or third line center. He's big, wins on both sides of the puck, wins faceoffs, and is a leader in the locker room.
The only negative argument I can make against re-signing him, is that he'll be 34 years old next month. But, while eventually father time does catch up, I don't think it's going to be a huge drop off for this player.
He's never been a "burner" up and down the wing, so a loss of speed isn't going to be a huge concern. Charlie is a heady two-way center, who still has at least 3-4 serviceable years left in him. Which is exactly the term I think the Blue Jackets should be looking for here.
What could a new Charlie Coyle contract look like?
Charlie is in the final season of a 6-year, $31.5 million dollar contract signed all the way back in 2019, as a member of the Boston Bruins. Since then, he had a brief stop in Colorado before being dealt to the Blue Jackets last summer.
I have to think that a guy like this is going to want to settle down with his young family for the next several years. So, he might be motivated to sign with the Blue Jackets. After all: what better place to raise a family than Central Ohio?
Of course, it will come down to finding the right dollars and term for both sides. There are some good comparables out there, but the best one might be our own Sean Monahan.
Monahan is 2 years younger than Coyle and signed his contract last summer. That came in at 5 years, with a $5.5m AAV. At the time, that was a 6.25% hit against the team's salary cap.
With Coyle being a little bit older, obviously, I can see the team not wanting to go for 5 years (or any longer). But, I think a 3 or 4-year deal is reasonable enough. And, while I don't think they'll be in a hurry to pay him above Monahan's AAV, there is quite a bit of cap inflation in the league. So, I do think he will come in at a higher AAV-but a similar cap % hit.
Rough math puts that at 4 years, $6.5 million dollars per year. Round it up to $7 million, if that's what he asks for. That isn't a small number, but in a rising cap world, I think that's what it's going to take to keep a guy like this around.
Hopefully, both sides are motivated to get this deal done. Charlie has been a delight to watch this season, and I do think he's an important member of this team as they look to make the leap into the playoffs.