It's going to be a busy off-season in Columbus. Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell has a lot on his plate, including making decisions on a lot of pending free agents. Today, we'll break down 10 restricted free agents whose rights will stay with the organization as long as the team gives them qualifying offers before July 1st.
Yesterday, we went through 13 pending unrestricted free agents. When it comes to RFAs, there are some very important core pieces that are due extensions this year, which could affect the team's decisions on their UFAs as well.
We'll talk about all of these on an individual basis, because there aren't any easy write-offs this year. Lets start with the guys in Cleveland, where the decisions might be a little easier.
There are 6 pending CBJ RFAs in the American Hockey League.
Jack Williams
The Monsters had a pretty good team this year, and part of that was due to the growth of some of the prospects in the organization. One of the guys who had a larger impact is center Jack Williams, who finished 4th on the team with 38 points (15 goals), while skating in all 72 games.
The 24-year-old right shot center was signed as an undrafted free agent out of college, inking a 2-year entry level contract last March, that started last season (he played in 1 game for the Blue Jackets. His first year as a pro went pretty well, all things considered. He is a guy that I could see becoming a bottom-six player in the NHL.
As a right shot center, he's a bit of a rare commodity. He's a smart two-way player, playing above the puck and often using his quick release to score in transition. For these reasons, I think he'll earn another 1 or 2-year deal from the Blue Jackets. Depending on the NHL readiness of Luca del bel Belluz, Williams could be the #1 center in Cleveland next fall.
Hunter McKown
McKown shares a lot of similarities with Williams. He is also a right-shot center that was signed as an undrafted free agent out of college, back in 2023. He's a little bit bigger, but overall their styles are very similar. McKown is one year younger, but he has two more seasons of pro experience under his belt.
This season, he scored 9 goals and 25 points in 63 games. At this point, I don't think the organization needs to decide between one or the other of these guys. But, it's worth noting that McKown's development seems to have stagnated a bit. If they re-sign him, I think it will just be for AHL depth. It's entirely possible that they fully move on here, as well.
Mikael Pyyhtia
The best way to describe Pyyhtia's situation: it's now or never. After bouncing back and forth between the Monsters and Blue Jackets for the last 4 years, he was left in Cleveland for most of this season.
Pyyhtia finished second on the team in both goals (21) and points (49), playing in 59 games. A two-way winger who has an above average shot, he has proven everything there is to prove in the AHL. It's time for the team to make a decision here. Is he an NHL player or not? I think he's good enough to at least serve as a depth forward for the Blue Jackets next season.
If the team doesn't feel that's the case, maybe they should try to move on from him this summer. Mikael is now 24 years old, and it doesn't make sense to re-sign him only to lose him on waivers this fall if he can't make the team out of camp. This is one contract that could be decided by whether or not Boone Jenner is re-signed.
On the next slide, we talk about three more guys in Cleveland, each of whom were top prospects at one point...
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