Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell isn't concerned about signing restricted free agent Adam Fantilli with the regular season less than a month away.
"No, not at all," Waddell said, according to Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. "We're in communication. There's a little difference of opinion right now, which is normal, and I'm confident that we'll have him done before training camp."
Camps across the NHL are scheduled to open in mid-September.
Fantilli, the third overall pick in 2023, had his entry-level contract expire at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. He posted a career-high 59 points and averaged nearly 19 minutes per contest last season, setting himself up for a potentially significant raise.
The Blue Jackets have over $12.6 million in cap space to sign Fantilli, but the RFA market has skyrocketed over the summer. Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson, the two players drafted ahead of Fantilli, signed five-year contracts with annual cap hits of $15 million and $18 million, respectively, earlier this summer.
Waddell noted that the Blue Jackets want to sign Fantilli for as many years as possible.
"The long-term contracts are becoming more and more difficult to get done," he said. "So, obviously, we're trying to get as much term as we possibly can. That's one of the differences we have, and then money is obviously a big part of it."
Waddell added, "The hope is more (than five years in term), but we'll see how these negotiations all go. You've got to get to where the money's going to be, and then the term will come after that."
Fantilli is one of six RFAs across the league who are currently unsigned. He's registered 140 points in 213 career games since beginning his career as a 19-year-old in 2023-24.
