The Columbus Blue Jackets and Jet Greaves avoided salary arbitration yesterday and agreed on a three-year deal with a $5 million salary cap hit. They’ve got about $19 million in projected salary cap space left with a 21-man roster and two remaining RFAs – Cole Sillinger and Adam Fantilli.

Teams are keeping an eye on the Columbus Blue Jackets and their cap situation … an Adam Fantilli offer sheet?

Daily Faceoff: (before Greaves re-signed) David Pagnotta on the Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap situation, and if teams are looking at it and wondering about an Adam Fantilli offer sheet.

“If we’re seeing (Cole) Sillinger in the four to five (million) range, and (Jet) Reeves in the five to six range (signed a three-year, $5 million per deal on Thursday). All of a sudden you’re looking at around 10 million, 11 million for those guys, and that’s dropping their cap space down to the 13 (million) mark.

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Reason why I’m bringing that up is, are other teams that are lurking going to look at this situation and go, can we force Columbus’s hand here? Now, I would imagine even if it’s anywhere near that number or above, that Columbus is going to match, but puts them in an awkward position because they’re going to have to most likely free up additional money.

So there are other teams that are looking at this situation, going, they don’t have a deal yet, Fantilli and the Jackets. They’ve got other business to attend, and one of them being pressing, given the, the arb situation with Greaves (settled on Thursday). Maybe there are teams that are looking at this, going, not maybe, there are, there are teams looking at this situation, going, maybe this is an opportunity for us to pounce here with respect to the whole offer sheet business.

  • Aaron Portzline: “Adam Fantilli, a restricted free agent, is vacationing in Italy. Talks on a temporary hold, but there has been progress, and the two sides will connect early next week.”

Now, I didn’t anticipate that a few weeks ago, even after the Carlson stuff. But it is something that some teams are at least considering internally. Whether that develops, we’ll, we’ll wait and see. But from Columbus’s side, suddenly they’re in a spot where they’re going, okay, we’ve got to keep tabs on a few different things here.”

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