Fantilli gets $82.5 million, and the Carlsson deal is why

Adam Fantilli sat out training camp over a number, and that number moved because of somebody else's negotiating mistake, not his agent's greed. Leo Carlsson signed for $18 million annually in Anaheim last week, and Columbus's earlier offer suddenly looked insufficient. They paid up: six years, $82.5 million, $13.75 million a year, through 2031-32.

That's the right outcome. It's still a touch light against the deal that forced it.

Fantilli is 21, and he posted a career-high 59 points last season for a team that hasn't sniffed the playoffs in six years. He's the best thing Columbus has built since taking him third overall in 2023.

General manager Don Waddell copped to raising the offer once Carlsson signed, then called Wednesday "a very exciting day for our organization." Fair enough. It's also the day Columbus's cap sheet grew $13.75 million heavier for six years, committed to a center who has never appeared in a postseason game.

Contract card:

• Term: 6 years (2026-27 through 2031-32).
• AAV: $13.75M ($82.5M total).
• Cap hit: 13.2% of the $104M 2026-27 ceiling.
• The comparable: Leo Carlsson, 5 years, $18M AAV in Anaheim — the deal that reset the market mid-negotiation.
• Verdict: fair, a shade light against the Carlsson number.

The bet is simple. Fantilli's a 25-goal, 60-point center at 21 with room to grow. Columbus locked in a number now instead of waiting three years to pay him Carlsson money on an expiring bridge deal.

At 13.2 percent of the cap, it's a real swing for a team still chasing its first playoff berth since 2020. It's the swing you take on a top-three pick who's already outproducing his draft slot.

He missed camp for it, and he said so straight: "Obviously it was tough not being around the guys and I wish it could have been quicker, but I couldn't be more excited to be a Blue Jacket for the next six years." Nobody in Columbus holds that against him once the games start counting.