The Blue Jackets have their goaltending situation dialed in for next season and beyond, after inking Jet Greaves to a well-earned three-year contract extension just before an arbitration hearing was scheduled to take place this morning. That move leaves the team with plenty of breadth to sign their other two remaining restricted free agents under the NHL's salary cap.
It does not sound like the Greaves contract came easy. According to the Athletic's Aaron Portzline, the meeting had to be put on pause while final negotiations took place. Ultimately, Greaves and the Jackets came to terms at around 9:20 this morning-20 minutes after the arbitration deadline.
Sensing they were close to a deal, #CBJ and Jet Greaves asked the arbitrator to delay the start of their hearing earlier today in Toronto.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) July 23, 2026
At 9:20 am — 20 minutes after the arbitration hearing was scheduled to begin — they reached agreement on a 3-year, $15 million contract.
This makes it seem like the Blue Jackets were trying to pinch every penny this summer, which honestly makes sense. They still have two players left to sign immediately, and a handful more (potentially very important) players to sign next summer.
In the end, it seems like they were able to talk Greaves down to a pretty friendly AAV. At least, in my opinion. Getting him signed at just $5 million per season gives them some flexibility to get the other guys done, too.
The Jackets have just under $20 million for Mo and Silly.
With the goaltending position figured out, the Blue Jackets are now up to $84,020,000 in spent salary cap money. This leaves $19,980,000 left for the team to sign Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger to extensions. That should be plenty of space to get both done.
From the offset, it has been reported that the team wants to get Sillinger signed long-term. To do that, they might have to be willing to fork out a little more AAV than they're comfortable with. My guess is, this has been part of the holdup on this deal.
Recent comps such as Peyton Krebs (4 years, $4.5m AAV) and Connor McMichael (6 years, $6.75m AAV) should give us a good idea where Sillinger will come in. I believe his AAV is going to end up somewhere in the middle of that range, assuming he signs for four or more seasons.
Obviously, a bridge (prove it) deal would come in much lower. But, lets assume that he comes in at four years, with a $5.5 million dollar AAV. That would leave the Blue Jackets around $14.5 million to get Fantilli done.
Which would be plenty, in theory. While Leo Carlsson commanded a whopping $18 million dollar AAV, that was due to an offer sheet signed with another team. He would be the closest comp available for Fantilli, considering the fact that they were taken one spot apart in the draft-and have a single point separating them in their career stat line.
However, that comp came before Connor Bedard inked his 5-year, $15m AAV contract with the Blackhawks last week. Neither Carlsson or Fantilli have shown the same level of star power, so I think this one really helps the Jackets.
My guess: Mo will sign for a similar term and AAV. So, 5 years, $14 or so million should get it done. Fingers crossed.
All of this is to say that the Blue Jackets are pretty well set for next season. Now, it will be on each of these players to live up to their new cap hits. That would be a wonderful outcome.
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