Adam Fantilli isn't going to be at Columbus Blue Jackets camp on time Wednesday, and the timing of another contract just made this negotiation a lot messier.
Aaron Portzline reported there's little hope for an 11th-hour deal before camp opens.
"Two sides still far apart and no action as of 9 p.m.," Portzline said. "See what the morning brings."
Fantilli posted 59 points in 82 games last season, still productive at just 21 years old on an entry-level cap hit of $950,000.
That gap between his current $950,000 deal and his next contract just got a lot more expensive to negotiate.
Cutter Gauthier, a similar age and profile forward in Anaheim, just signed a six-year extension worth $13,500,000 annually.
That number instantly becomes the comparison point every agent uses in a negotiation like this one, whether Columbus likes it or not.
Why this changes Columbus' entire calculation
Gauthier's 41 goals last season give his camp a clean argument for that price tag. Fantilli's camp can now point to a similar trajectory and demand similar respect.
Columbus finished 40-30-12 last season, 18th overall, already juggling Kirill Marchenko trade speculation and a Zach Werenski situation that just got resolved this summer.
GM Don Waddell now has to negotiate a second-contract extension for a franchise center while every other negotiation in the league is resetting to a higher number.
Missing camp on time isn't just a scheduling problem. It signals real distance between two sides who were already far apart before Anaheim's deal even hit the news.
Fantilli not being in the building Wednesday puts him behind in reps compared to teammates building chemistry before the season, a real cost beyond just the dollars being negotiated.
Whether Columbus closes this gap in the next few days, or lets it drag deeper into camp the way Detroit's front office situation did all summer, is the story worth watching now.
Will Adam Fantilli miss regular season games over this contract standoff?
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