Cole Sillinger Contract Hits the Mark in Columbus
The Cole Sillinger contract is official: a multi-year deal. And the Blue Jackets never came close to an arbitration hearing. GM Don Waddell went 2-for-2 this week after settling goalie Jet Greaves. Sillinger filed for arbitration earlier this month, with his hearing scheduled shortly thereafter.
Problem solved with days to spare.
What Cole Sillinger Brings at a Fair Value
Sillinger just turned 23 and already has a significant number of NHL games under his belt.
That is an impressive workload for his age. He leads the 2021 draft class in games played and career hits. Columbus selected him early in that draft. He debuted at a young age, making him one of the youngest players in franchise history to suit up.
His recent performance included a solid point total over the course of the season.
He set career highs in assists and plus/minus while matching his best point total from the previous season. Not the kind of production that lands you on a highlight reel. But Sillinger finished among the top players on the Blue Jackets in hits and takeaways. He is a grinding, two-way center who makes opposing lines uncomfortable.
"Cole is a hard-working, reliable two-way forward who plays the game the right way, has outstanding character and continues to grow and improve." That is the organization's description. And the numbers back it up.
Why Did Don Waddell Avoid Arbitration Again?
Because arbitration is bad business. No NHL player has actually gone through a hearing since a notable case in 2024. The process forces a team to argue why their own player is worth less than he thinks. It burns bridges and poisons relationships, sometimes for years.
Waddell did the same thing with Jet Greaves. Columbus filed at a lower figure. Greaves asked for a higher amount. They settled at a reasonable average annual value over a multi-year term.
Same approach with Sillinger: identify the gap, find the middle, sign the paper.
This mirrors what smart rebuilding teams always do. Carolina under Waddell routinely settled RFA cases before they reached a hearing room. Tampa Bay bridged young forwards in the late 2010s rather than rushing into long-term commitments.
Columbus is following that same blueprint now. And frankly, it is a welcome shift from how the previous regime operated.
How the Sillinger Contract Buys Columbus Time
The structure is the real story.
A multi-year deal at a fair average annual value buys out several UFA years, keeping Sillinger under team control for the foreseeable future. It sits between his previous bridge deal and the kind of premium extension a top-line center commands.
Sillinger is not a top-line center today. His career totals reflect a solid contribution across his games played. But he is durable, he is physical, and at 23 the offensive ceiling has not closed. Columbus is building around a young core that hit career milestones all over the roster recently.
Locking up Sillinger and Greaves in the same week prevents exactly the kind of roster disruption that slows a rebuild to a crawl.
The risk here is low.
If Sillinger plateaus as a third-line center, the contract is fair value for what he provides. If he takes a step and pushes past a certain point total with the same defensive edge, the deal becomes a bargain fast.
What to Watch This Fall in Columbus
The Sillinger signing will not lead SportsCenter. But these are the moves that compound over time. Columbus has cost certainty on a core forward and their top young goalie for the foreseeable future. And they got there without a single contentious hearing.
Watch the center depth chart in camp.
If Sillinger draws top-six minutes and power-play time, Columbus is betting on the upside. If he stays in a shutdown role, they are protecting the floor. Either way, the Blue Jackets covered their bases.
Sources: NHL.com, TSN, Sportsnet, AP News, The Athletic