The Blue Jackets are keeping one of their promising young centres in the building for at least the next two years.
The Columbus Blue Jackets got a jump on their offseason to-do list on Tuesday morning, agreeing to terms with forward Jack Rolsovic on a two-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4 million.
Roslovic, who was a pending restricted free agent prior to signing this deal today, now finds himself tied to Columbus through the 2024-25 season, after which he will then be an unrestricted free agent capable of signing with any of the 32 NHL teams.
In two seasons with the club, Roslovic has fit in quite nicely with the Blue Jackets since arriving with Patrik Laine in the trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg. The 25-year-old racked up an impressive 22 goals in 81 games this season, 18 of which were even-strength tallies, to go with a career-high 45 points while taking only 12 minutes in penalties all season.
Not to mention, Roslovic managed to set personal bests in every major offensive category despite averaging only 14:17 in nightly ice time, showing just how efficiently he used his limited minutes all year long.
With some changes to the Blue Jackets’ roster and Roslovic’s new $4 million salary, that workload will almost certainly grow in the season ahead.
Getting Roslovic under contract might be a nice piece of business, but GM Jarmo Kakalainen’s work is far from over as the offseason approaches. The Blue Jackets still need to find new contracts for a number of key young players such as Patrik Laine and Adam Boqvist, along with other roster pieces in Emil Bemstrom, Carson Meyer, Nick Blankenburg, and Gabriel Carlsson.
With over $22 million in cap space even after factoring in Roslovic’s new price tag, however, they should have the financial room to do it. But it will be a busy summer out in Ohio, with Roslovic only the tip of the iceberg.
