Have you had a chance to take everything in yet? Because the Columbus Blue Jackets have made a lot of news during a busy summer.
From new management to a new head coach, from a big trade to several new contracts agreed to, off days have been sparce inside Nationwide Arena. But finally, most major business is done for the Blue Jackets this offseason. They can now turn their attention to the start of Training Camp.
In our last edition of Blue Jackets News & Rumors until camp opens, we begin with the reason why most major business is completed for the offseason. They signed an important player to his second contract.
Sillinger Motivated for Season 4
After trading Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, the Blue Jackets had one final piece of business to take care of. Cole Sillinger needed a new contract.
GM Don Waddell in our recent one-on-one told us that they were within striking distance of finishing it off. He admitted they had a position and the player had a position but was confident it would be done soon. Mission accomplished.
Sillinger agreed to a two-year deal worth $4.5 million, an AAV of $2.25 million. He will be a restricted free agent when the deal expires. He hopes his next contract will be his massive payday.
Sillinger spoke to the media on Wednesday about his new deal and the upcoming season. If there was one word to describe him, that word was motivated.
Somehow, Sillinger is entering his fourth NHL season. It just feels like the Blue Jackets drafted him. To say he’s excited to get back to Columbus is an understatement. He got to speak to both Waddell and head coach Dean Evason. While he wouldn’t share the exact nature of what was said, one thing was apparent.
Both he and his teammates are excited for 2024-25.
“I’ve had the opportunity to speak to both of them via phone call and yeah, just kind of talked about summer and got to know each other a little bit. Nothing too in depth but it was great,” Sillinger said. “It seemed like they are great people and obviously they’ve been around the game of hockey for a while so that’s always good to have. I love the changes we made in the organization this summer and left the call extremely motivated to get back to Columbus and to get back in the group.”
Sillinger is joining a group that will have more center depth on it than anytime in recent Blue Jackets’ memory. He says that’s another reason for excitement in the upcoming season.
“Extremely (beneficial) when we add a guy like (Sean) Monahan in free agency,” Sillinger said. “I got the chance to speak to him a little bit and heard nothing but good things with the career he’s had up to this point. It’s a very successful career. We drafted a fellow Medicine Hat Tiger, Cayden Lindstrom and Willie Desjardins there has nothing but good things to say about him. We have a good mix of a good young core, some middle experienced veterans and guys like Boone (Jenner) and (Sean) Monahan et cetera down the middle. Not only down the middle but kind of throughout our depth chart of our whole group, (our) defense group, everything like that. I think we have a good mix of personalities and a good mix of experience in the locker room.”
Sillinger also believes he is ready for a breakout soon. It’s something he’s thought about this summer. He’s starting to understand who he is as a person.
“That’s something I know I’m capable of and that’s something that I feel like mentally I’m kind of prepared for honestly is just trusting my abilities a little bit more,” Sillinger said. “Now that I’m on my second deal and have three years under my belt, it’s tough to really explain or relay the information, but I feel a little bit more poised, a little bit more confident with everything I’m doing, not only at the rink, but just kind of away from the rink. I’m kind of figuring out who I want to be as a person and who I really am more, the people I am surrounding myself with. So just all those little things come together. I just feel like I’m capable of producing a lot more and if the opportunities present for themselves, you can execute a little more and try to help the Blue Jackets win as many games as we can.”
Expect Sillinger to start as the second or third-line center once Training Camp gets underway.
What Does Waddell Have Up His Sleeve?
With Laine gone and Sillinger signed, PuckPedia has the Blue Jackets with just under $16 million in cap space at just over $72 million spent. Don’t worry, they’re comfortably over the cap floor which is $65 million.
The question to consider now is what could Waddell do with this flexibility? Two things are true here. First, the Blue Jackets could explore making upgrades leading up to the season. If a cap-strapped team is forced to decide on a player and they could help the Blue Jackets, they’ll look at that.
But then the second thing that’s true is that Waddell can sit on the flexibility. There might be some wisdom in that. Why? Have you seen the potential free agent class in 2025? It’s pretty loaded.
While most big-name free agents find a way to get their deals done, that’s not true in every case. Just because the Blue Jackets have $16 million in space doesn’t mean they have to use it now. They could save it to try to load their team up in 2025-26.
Free agents want to both maximize their contract while going to a place that will have a chance to win. The Blue Jackets are not there in 2024-25. But in the future with their young core? That’s a different story.
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They say the greatest weapon is cap space. That’s true to some extent. The greatest weapon is actually knowing when to strike with that cap space.
With the use of LTIR in the league, teams can find ways to be compliant without having to make major moves. While the Blue Jackets will look at the market, an opportunity might not rise up. But having that cap flexibility at the trade deadline and at free agency could prove to be a franchise changer. They could land a player they wouldn’t have otherwise had they spent on other assets.
For now, the takeaway is this. The Blue Jackets will look to improve between now and camp. But don’t be surprised if their current roster is what we get come training camp and into the season. Why? They are evaluating everyone to see who’s a big part of the future and who isn’t. Things will come into focus more as this season goes on.
Side Dishes
- Kent Johnson is expected to be ready for training camp, according to coach Evason. It’s not definitive yet. But they did speak and the expectation as of now is that Johnson will be ready.
- Evason said that the Monsters will play the exact same style as the Blue Jackets. That’s a big deal when it comes to callups seamlessly entering the NHL lineup. Trent Vogelhuber and the Cleveland staff partake in the video calls with the Blue Jackets so that everyone is aligned.
- As for training camp, medicals and fitness testing are scheduled for Wednesday Sept 18. The first day of on-ice workouts will be the next day Thursday Sept 19. As usual, anything held at the Ice Haus will be free and open to the public.