Adam Fantilli still has no contract with the Blue Jackets, and Columbus opens training camp on Wednesday.
Aaron Portzline reported Saturday that there has been little progress, if any, in the recent talks.
Players report Wednesday. On-ice practices start Thursday. That timeline is not comfortable for anyone involved.
The price moved, and it moved hard. Elliotte Friedman framed it as a Before Carlsson number against an After Carlsson number.
Leo Carlsson signed an $18 million AAV offer sheet with Philadelphia, and Anaheim matched it.
Connor Bedard followed with a reported $15 million AAV in Chicago. Two signatures, and the market for young centers reset overnight.
Columbus was reportedly prepared to do business somewhere near $12 million before any of that landed.
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Blue Jackets hit with brutal Adam Fantilli update days before training camp
The team's annual pre-camp golf event went ahead on September 8 without its top-line center.
The Blue Jackets posted photos from Double Eagle. A group shot with a hole in it.
These events are optional, and they're also not optional. Everybody in hockey understands the difference.
Here's what makes the ask sting in Ohio. The 21-year-old played last season on a $950,000 cap hit.
He appeared in all 82 games, scored 24 times, and finished with 59 points.
Solid production. He also posted a -13 rating on a team that broke even in goal differential.
Zach Werenski put up 81 points from the blue line and carries $9,583,333.
Kirill Marchenko scored 27 goals on a $3,850,000 deal, seven of them game-winners.
That's the comparison sitting on Don Waddell's desk while the ask creeps toward $15 million.
Paying a center that kind of money before he's cracked 60 points is how a mid-market club gets stuck for six years.
It's buying the house at the top of the market because the neighbour just got a ridiculous price for theirs.
But what's the alternative here?
Columbus finished 40-30-12 and landed 18th overall. Close enough to feel something, not close enough to prove it.
They stumbled home at 2-7-1 over the final ten, closing with a 2-1 loss to Washington.
The injury sheet is already crowded. Valeri Nichushkin, Dmitry Voronkov and Damon Severson all carry day-to-day tags and are questionable for the start of the season.
Elvis Merzlikins is dealing with a shoulder and is not expected back until at least October 24.
Isac Lundestrom sits on injured reserve with an Achilles problem and an estimated return of November 10.
Rick Bowness took over behind the bench in January. His first full camp opens with his top center unsigned.
Recent form hands neither side a lever. Fantilli managed six points across his final ten games and went minus-4 over that stretch.
Wednesday arrives either way. And whichever side blinks first is going to spend the next six years explaining why.
Should Don Waddell pay Adam Fantilli $15 million a season?
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