The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a surprise restricted free‑agent signing late Friday, June 12. Cleveland Monsters fan‑favorite James “Jimmy” Malatesta will be sticking around in the Buckeye State for another season.
He signed a one‑year, two‑way NHL/AHL contract. PuckPedia reports the deal carries an $850,000 NHL salary and a two‑way clause with a $95,000 AHL salary for the 2026–27 season.
This wasn’t the restricted free agent I expected Don Waddell to prioritize, but it’s a welcome bit of business nonetheless.
Malatesta spent most of the 2025-26 season in Trent Vogelhuber’s bottom six and posted a modest 10‑8‑18 line in 57 games. He also recorded a career‑high 87 penalty minutes and finished with a ‑1 rating.
The underlying prospect hasn’t changed much since he was drafted in the fifth round back in 2021: he remains an undersized, “spark-plug” type winger whose value comes from his motor, his ability to get in under opponent’s skin, and his ability to chip in the occasional greasy goal.
Where is the improvement?
The disappointing part is that Malatesta hasn’t taken meaningful steps forward in his offensive game or in any real distinctive secondary skillset. His compete level remains elite, and that’s what continues to earn him opportunities within the organization. But, after three full pro seasons, the Blue Jackets would have liked to see signs of a scoring breakout.
Instead, he posted similar numbers to his 2024-2025 season and played just one postseason game for the Monsters during their 2026 Calder Cup run while being a healthy scratch the rest of the way.
Despite his size, Malatesta has shown he can use his frame effectively and play a disruptive, defense-first style that could translate to a fourth‑line NHL role. But that path looks far less certain than it did after his impressive final season with the Quebec Remparts, when he put up 64 points in 55 games during their Memorial Cup push in 2022-2023.
Another key wrinkle heading into next season: Malatesta will now be waivers‑eligible. That means the Blue Jackets can no longer freely shuttle him between Columbus and Cleveland without exposing him to the rest of the league.
This may not matter as much as it did for a player like Daemon Hunt, who the CBJ lost on waivers some time ago to Minnesota, but if Jimmy doesn’t win a job out of camp, the Jackets will have to decide whether they’re comfortable risking him on waivers, or whether they want to keep him in the NHL as a 13th or 14th forward to avoid losing him for nothing.
It raises the stakes for his training camp performance and could give him a clearer path to sticking in Columbus if he shows something really impressive out of the gate during training camp in September.
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