Don Waddell can set his team up long-term by making some smart decisions here.
Egor Zamula
Lets start with the easy one here. Egor Zamula was signed to a prorated one-year contract with the Blue Jackets back on January 6th. This was about one week after Brendan Smith suffered his season-ending knee injury. Coincidentally, or maybe not coincidentally: Zamula signed on the same day as Smith's surgery.
Just 26 years old, and with only 188 games spread over 7 years, Zamula remains a restricted free agent. He played in 20 games with the Jackets, scoring 3 assists. I have a really difficult time seeing the team bring him back. He didn't earn any ice time over the team's other 7th man (Jake Christiansen, who is signed through next year), with the two splitting time down the stretch. We'll see.
Jet Greaves
This is where things start to get really interesting. Jet Greaves emerged as the starting goaltender for the Blue Jackets this year, getting into 55 games and posting a 26-19-9 record. Across the board, no matter what metric you use to measure him, he was very quietly a top-10 goalie in the league this year.
If you point to any one reason as to why this team was close to a playoff spot despite sleeping through so much of the year: it was Jet Greaves. He helped them overcome their bountiful defensive zone lapses more times than we can count, and gave them a chance to win nearly every night.
Now 25 years old, the guy who has been patient and waited his turn, has proven himself and is ready to cash in. While I don't think this is a "blank check" type of scenario; it's time for this team to give him some long-term stability. This is a no brainer for Don Waddell. Contract estimate: 5 years, $6 million AAV.
Cole Sillinger
There are two types of people in the CBJ fanbase: those who feel that Cole Sillinger should be traded as part of a deal to bring in a star caliber forward. And, those who feel that Cole Sillinger is an important piece of this team's future competitive core.
Count me firmly in the second group. Sounds like I'm not the only one. Elliotte Friedman recently mentioned Cole as part of what the Blue Jackets consider to be their core on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. He talked about the team wanting to get him inked to a longer-term contract to keep him in Columbus.
I think they are smart to try to get that done. This season was a bit of a down year offensively, with Cole scoring a very modest 8 goals and 33 points in 81 games. But, ask yourself this question: how many 22 year olds have almost 400 NHL games under their belt? Answer: not many.
We always hear about how Kent Johnson is still developing and they view him as a young player finding his way. We don't hear that about Cole Sillinger, because he's proven himself a capable NHLer, with some (hopefully) still higher upside. There are far worse things you can have. Lock him up now, before he really breaks out. Contract estimate: 5 years, $6m AAV.
Adam Fantilli
Saving the biggest one for last here. The Blue Jackets have yearned for a top line center for most of their 26 years in the NHL. While his 24-35-59 stat line while playing in all 82 games doesn't scream top line center, allow me to remind you: Mo is that guy.
This season, his production didn't ramp up like we hoped it would, but it's honestly a little bit unfair to say he fell short of expectations. He was unlucky this year, with his shooting percentage falling by 5 points. Still, he did not let that affect his overall game.
I though this was the best #19 that we have seen since he was drafted third overall. With Adam on the ice, the Jackets had an xGF% of 58.2%-compared to 45.8% without, per MoneyPuck.com. No matter which advanced metric you dig into, it all points to a guy who had an outstanding year, but was very snake bitten.
He'll fix it. His work ethic won't allow him to come up short another year, and even if all he does over the summer is work to dial in his finishing; he's a safe bet to pot 40 goals and 80 points next year. While having a strong all-around game. I'm that confident in him.
Like Cole Sillinger, this is a guy you have to sign for as long as you can. But, to the contrary, I think Adam will opt for a bridge contract here. He has a lot more potential than this year allowed him to show, and betting on a brighter future would be a smart play on his behalf. Even a bridge deal won't be cheap here, though. Contract estimate: 2 years, $10.5m AAV.
It will be interesting to see what Don Waddell opts to do with all of these restricted free agents. We'll stay on top of any news and keep you informed as soon as it breaks!
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