“The way I look at it now, our UFAs are like our rental players, unless something comes up here at a moment’s notice,” Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell said. “One phone call can change that a little bit, but trading a guy right now for a second-round pick… we have (eight) picks in this draft. We don’t need more picks. It’s more important that we win games.”
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Further: Five ways Rick Bowness changed the Columbus Blue Jackets’ playoff hopes
The Blue Jackets have six pending unrestricted free agents, including captain Boone Jenner. They also have plenty of room under the NHL salary cap which is expected to increase from $95.5 million to $104 million in 2026-27.
That should leave plenty of room to re-sign any of the Jackets’ preferred UFAs while also reaching deals with three key restricted free agents: center Adam Fantilli, forward Cole Sillinger and goaltender Jet Greaves.
Headlining the UFA list are Jenner, center Charlie Coyle, forward Mason Marchment and defenseman Erik Gudbranson. All four are age 30 or older, and the Jackets also have veteran depth players like forward Danton Heinen and injured defenseman Brendan Smith as pending UFAs.
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Coming out of the NHL’s three-week pause for the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Jackets are four points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division, a guaranteed playoff spot. Columbus is four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, another playoff berth.
Blue Jackets Alternate Governor John H. McConnell II, right, and general manager Don Waddell honor Charlie Coyle (3) with a piece of art celebrating his 1,000th NHL game.
They will also play those two teams early on, starting with the Bruins on Feb. 26 at TD Garden in Boston before hosting the Islanders on Feb. 28 at Nationwide Arena. Those games, plus the other three before the trade deadline (March 2 against the New York Rangers, March 3 against the Nashville Predators and March 5 against the Florida Panthers), could determine what Waddell ultimately does.
Dropping all five and quickly exiting playoff contention could prompt a UFA selloff to acquire picks and/or prospects with the future in mind. Remaining in the playoff hunt will likely keep the Jackets intact with the possibility of Waddell “working the edges” to add low-cost depth rentals to UFA.
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That would mirror last season’s trade deadline in Columbus, when Waddell held on to his outstanding UFAs while adding depth to forwards Luke Kunin and Christian Fischer.
“If someone says, ‘I’m going to give you ‘Player “There aren’t many of those out there, though, and with the high-end UFAs, we already have a ton of them. So I’m not going to pay a price (to add more).”
Blue Jackets left wing Mason Marchment and goalie Jet Greaves posted a 4-0 victory over the Blackhawks on February 4.
Expect to see a patient, almost silent approach to the deadline for the second year in a row. Waddell said he contacted agents representing the Blue Jackets’ UFAs and spoke with a couple of players over the offseason to gauge their interest in re-signing.
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Now comes the waiting period for the deadline to pass.
“We showed (patience) last year when we met the deadline and kept our guys,” Waddell said. “We ended up signing the guys we wanted to keep at the end of the year, so the March 6 trade deadline is not a deadline to keep your players or lose them. Just because you keep them and they’re still UFAs doesn’t mean they’re all going to be gone at the end of the year.”
Brian Hedger, Blue Jackets reporter can be reached bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets May Hold Free Agents After Trade Deadline