Blue Jackets sign Sillinger to 2-year, $4.5M deal

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed restricted free-agent forward Cole Sillinger to a two-year contract worth $2.25 million per season.

"Cole Sillinger is a very smart two-way center who competes extremely hard at both ends of the ice," general manager Don Waddell said. "He played over 200 NHL games before turning 21 and is coming off his best season, so we are looking forward to his continued growth as a player. He is going to be an important part of the present and future of this club."

Sillinger appeared in 77 games last season and notched a career-high 32 points while averaging over 16 minutes per contest.

Columbus drafted Sillinger 12th overall in 2021.

Sillinger was the Blue Jackets' last remaining RFA. Columbus has approximately $15.8 million in cap space after the signing, according to PuckPedia.