Not knowing what Adam Fantilli’s number is could hold up other business
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman, on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Protection, Expansion & Change episode, on the speculation around Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko and if he has a future in Columbus. They need to know where Adam Fantilli’s next contract is at before they can move Marchenko if they get an offer they really like.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“The thing about this, and the reason I think that this is a that Don Waddell and Columbus has some challenges, it’s a puzzle, right? They probably, probably need to know Fantilli’s number before they make other decisions. So when they sign him, then they know okay, we’ve got Fantilli at ‘X’ dollars, and it’s going to be above $10 million. But you got to know where. And then you can figure out okay, where do all these other pieces fit?
Because one of the challenges with Marchenko is he’s only making $3.85 million, even though he’s not a $3.85 million dollar player. He’s worth much more than that, and next year he’ll be on a contract that is much higher than that.
There may be some movement between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Adam Fantilli
But if you’re trading a guy out at 3.85 and you’re adding probably one or more pieces that make more than that, you’ve got to know what Fantilli’s number is, so you can you don’t walk yourself into another salary cap problem.
So I think, and there’s this thing too, like this whole thing about the Marchenko trade, is that depending on who you talk to, you get differing opinions on whether or not Columbus really wants to do this. And especially now, I think most people believe that Columbus wants to start the season, and go, and then decide what they want to do.
Now, there’s others who said no; they think if they get a deal that they want, they’ll move Marchenko, but that’s that’s in the minority. That’s not what most people think. However, what most people do seem to agree with is, absent knowing Fantilli’s number, it’s hard to take a make a trade for Marchenko because it’s extremely difficult to see them bringing in less salary than they’re sending out because Marchenko is so undervalued at just under $4 million. So I think that’s kind of what’s going on there now.”
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Questions involving Columbus Blue Jackets Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko https://t.co/8ln7pf4KCS
— NHLRumors.com (@MyNHLRumorsX) September 18, 2026
