Confirmed with Link: ZAR signs 1 year 775k extension through 25-26 season (1/13/25)

[CBJWerenski8]

Click to read more...

 

[Viqsi]

Very much approve. Good contract for a very useful depth player.

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

Excellent. His defensive game was just what the forward group needed.

 

[Doggy]

I don't have an issue with this, I think he is an effective bottom six forward. BobbyMac on his podcast said he thought for sure ZAR should be extended.

Now do Olivier so we can end all that TDL talk attached to him.

 

[Doggy]

Very much approve. Good contract for a very useful depth player.

Just a suggestion: for any thread that announces a signing, can a date be added to the title so we know whether it's new news or just a poster writing in an old thread bumping it to the top?

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Just a suggestion: for any thread that announces a signing, can a date be added to the title so we know whether it's new news or just a poster writing in an old thread bumping it to the top?

Like that?

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[Doggy]

Like that?

Thanks DSL, that is helpful.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Just a suggestion: for any thread that announces a signing, can a date be added to the title so we know whether it's new news or just a poster writing in an old thread bumping it to the top?

Folks may or may not notice, but we try and update old thread titles when there are new topics. For example, switching a prefix from "Confirmed with Link" that might be about a signing to "Player Discussion" when it's a year or so down the road. It's not foolproof but it does happen.

See the Elvis and Fantilli threads for examples of this. You can't see the former thread titles or prefixes, but it's clear the Elvis thread we're using for current play discussion was started when he signed his long contract (no, do not necro old posts in that thread now) and the Fantilli "Player Discussion" thread started as his draft thread.

Information shared but please do not discuss general thread naming in here further. If you have more questions about conversation organization, please PM a mod. Thank you.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

genuinely the best fourth line forward we've had in years, in terms of guys who actually play a fourth line game.

not sure who the 4C is going to be next year (i assume one/both of kuraly/danforth will be gone) but that line will stay rock solid if they extend olivier. i'd love for them to go after someone like radek faksa in free agency to bring a bit more size.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

The ultimate no risk deal for the CBJ. His contract can be "buried" if he's sent to the AHL which isn't a bad thing given that he did play most of last year in the AHL.

 

[punk_o_holic]

Glad he's back next season.

Waddell's been vocal on wanting to sign Olivier. This gets done a month or so before the trade deadline. Is Waddell trying to extend any UFA he wants back now. Come deadline, if no deal, he'll shop them??? I wonder if Fabbro gets done soon if he wants him back. Who else? Provorov? Although I hope they trade him and cash in. Circle back in the Summer.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

The Blue Jackets signed Aston-Reese to a one-year contract extension that will pay him $775,000 through next season. That salary, the NHL’s minimum, is the same he’s making this season. A raise would have been nice, but he was looking for stability.

A two-year contract was discussed between Waddell and Aston-Reese’s agent, Dan Milstein, before they settled on the one-year deal on Sunday.

“It feels really good,” Aston-Reese told The Athletic. “I’ve always believed in myself, but it’s nice to have a staff that believes in me as well. They’ve given me an opportunity. I’m so grateful and happy to be here. I love this team, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

“It’s so good to know where I’m going to be. It’s not just me anymore, either. I’ve got a girlfriend (Sasha) and we have two dogs, so that (stability) is really nice.”

“During the summertime, as a GM, maybe you think you could do better, and you want to think you’ve got young guys in your organization who could do the job,” Waddell said. “But then you watch him day in and day out — like we have here this season — and you find out why he’s hung around for so long.”

Aston-Reese’s signing takes one of the Blue Jackets’ pending unrestricted free agents off the market heading into the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

It’s a balance, Waddell said, wanting to keep the right veteran players while still allowing room for the young talent that’s percolating at AHL Cleveland and in the junior ranks across North America. The closest to the surface would appear to be winger James Malatesta and Del Bel Belluz, who was called up following an injury to veteran Sean Monahan.

“We have a few guys coming,” Waddell said. “But I don’t see (Aston-Reese’s) signing as any kind of a roadblock.”

Aston-Reese said he was excited when the Blue Jackets claimed him on waivers on Oct. 7, three days before the season opener. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but he saw an opportunity on a club that has finished near the bottom of the standings the past two seasons.

“But after that first game (a 3-2 loss in Minnesota) this season, the way that we played, the pace and the skill that was right there … I was like, ‘Man, we could be really good,'” Aston-Reese said. “It’s a great group of guys. It’s a really close room. Yeah, it’s a place I want to be.”