Among all of the hockey news hoopla from June 30th, the NHL's 2025-2026 restricted free agent (RFA) qualifying offers (QO) deadline came about. It was promptly swallowed up by the free agent signing news fracas that rocked the global hockey world on Monday. The Columbus Blue Jackets were not exempt from this deadline, as the franchise did not tender contracts to eight different players by Monday's deadline, one less than the week prior.
Of the eight, only three players were tendered QOs to retain their free agent rights with the Blue Jackets: Dmitri Voronkov, Daemon Hunt, and Mikael Pyythia. That means that five (now former) Blue Jackets will become unrestricted free agents come Tuesday at noon: Jordan Harris, Tim Berni, Samuel Knazko, Ole Julian Bjorkvik-Holm & Cole Clayton.
The Qualified
Two of the Blue Jackets tendered should come as no real surprise to anyone who watched Columbus hockey this season: Voronkov and Pyythia. Both young men spent time with the big league club this year, and "Voro" (as he is affectionately known) has solidified himself as a full-time NHLer with perhaps plenty of untapped potential left in his tank. Dmitri slashed 23-24-47 in 73 games played in his sophomore North American campaign, along with an impressive +17 rating and 14.9% shooting percentage.
Pyythia, or "Tuna" as the team came to call him this season, on the other hand, put up 4-3-7 in 47 GP in his 3rd NHL season, along with a -11 rating and just 6 penalty minutes. Due to prior reporting, we also knew several weeks ago that Pyyhtia had received the offer, and so this came as no surprise.
Daemon Hunt did not spend any time at the NHL level, but was the sole player to come from the Minnesota Wild as a result of the David Jiricek-focused trade earlier this season. He seemed to fit in well during his time with the AHL-level Cleveland, as he commonly played on the top defensive pairing before a late-season injury. Hunt finished with 14 points in 48 GP and a -8 rating at the American Hockey League level during his time in Cleveland this season.
The Free Agents
The "marquee" non-tendered player is, of course, Jordan Harris. Harris was the sole piece that came back in the Patrik Laine trade in 2024 to Columbus. But, he failed to find a permanent role in Columbus' defensive corps that already had its well-known struggles during the 2024-2025 campaign.
I liked what Jackets fans saw from him in the limited action Jordan was afforded by Dean Evason this season. However, it became clear about a third of the way through the season that he had fallen out of favor with the coaching staff. I had hope that a late-season surge in quality play from the left-handed defenseman would be enough to help Don Waddell in deciding to retain his rights, but this came to naught.
The other names are a list of players who spent very little time at the NHL level, or none at all. Samuel Knazko had been riding the bench for too much of his time in AHL Cleveland and never quite panned out to his "3rd-pairing offensive power play quarterback" draft profile from years past. I would guess that the former third-round pick will end up playing back home in his native Slovakia, unless another North American franchise takes a flyer on him.
Tim Berni has been playing back home in Switzerland since the CBJ did not re-sign him after the 2023-2024 campaign. Bjorkvik-Holm has a big frame and isn't shy about throwing it around, had some minor character concerns in the past, and never really seemed to gel with Cleveland's lineup. He spent much of his time in the ECHL two seasons ago, a rare sign of poor development for a young prospect.
Clayton was signed to a Columbus entry-level deal just last offseason, and while he has carved out a decent role in Cleveland, he doesn't seem quite ready for an NHL-level role at this point. I'd look for Monsters General Manager Chris Clark to extend an offer to rejoin the club on an AHL-level deal for next season if he doesn't take a deal elsewhere, as he joined the team's leadership core this past season. "Cowboy" is a fan favorite in the Forest City, and it'd be a shame to see him move on.
Allowing these players to walk opens up more opportunity within the CBJ organization. It will be interesting to see how the depth charts are filled in.