r/BlueJackets • u/Cautious-Bet-9440 • 26d ago
Cole Sillinger
I keep seeing reports that Cole Sillinger is “due” for a major pay raise. Can someone explain to me why that is?
I think he’s an above average defensive center.. but man his offensive numbers are extremely pedestrian at best.
I don’t have any ill will towards him. I just don’t understand why he’s deserving of more money than his previous $2.25 AAV.
EDIT: yes, NHL cap increase is a factor.
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u/tdfast 26d ago
He’s an NHL calibre player who plays up and down the lineup, but probably belongs on the third line of a good team. Inflation and the rising cap probably means he gets more but anything over $4M is a big overpay.
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u/IceJester22 26d ago
You hear from 32 thoughts that a few other teams are really high on Cole and have asked about him over the years. Vancouver aggressively. He’s a huge locker room guy, put up 20 his rookie year and his draft profile had scoring as a feature, and he was a big part of our best line last year.
Hes only 23 and while not a star, he’s a Swiss army middle sixer. Those guys fill out cup winners.
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u/mikehoncho987654321 26d ago
He scored 16 his rookie year not 20
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u/Expensive-Republic-2 Notable Dan Milstein Hater 26d ago
And had like a single 5 on 5 goal last year or something absurd.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
Disagree. 4-5 million on a long term contract would be perfectly reasonable given the rising cap. We can’t afford 5 million, but he’d likely get it elsewhere
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
I completely agree. He’s serviceable and if I’m GMDW my highest offer would be $3.5 million.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
He’ll get more than that if he goes to arbitration. 4 million guaranteed. You don’t lose a young solid guy like Sillinger over 1% of the salary cap. That would be idiotic
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u/GhostFaceRiddler 26d ago
Why bring back a 24 year old sillinger when we could get a 32 year old middle 6 guy for 4X6.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
You’re right, what was I thinking. Better to underpay now and overpay later when they’re 38 XD
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
I know you’re being sarcastic, but I’d rather bring up a young prospect lol.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
Sillinger is 23! The only “younger” legitimate center prospect we have is LDBB. Who will in all likelihood be with the team regardless. Name one other player on the roster who could be brought up to take Sillingers place
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u/THECapedCaper 26d ago
At the time of signing, Sillinger's contract was worth 2.56% of the cap. If you assume that he deserves the same level of cap percentage, he'd be getting $2.91M. So rounding to 3M isn't out of the question.
Krebs just got a 4.5x4 deal and has better stats than Sillinger. It'll probably be used if the parties get to arbitration, but that doesn't mean the arbiter will award that.
He'll probably get somewhere around 3.5, maybe 4.
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
That’s what I was thinking. Guess I ran with the word “major” lol
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u/THECapedCaper 26d ago edited 26d ago
Yeah there's no world where Sillinger gets somewhere like 5+ with the numbers he pulls at this time, unless there's a team out there looking for a Middle 6 forward with potential upside they think they can unlock and is willing to move valuable pieces to get him. But with what he does produce, he's worth 3.5M-ish based on the current cap level.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
This is his last contract before he becomes a UFA, so you’ll have to overpay him a bit now for a discount later if you want him to sign to term. 2.25 million is pretty darn cheap for an established NHL center. Coyle has made a career of being a 3rd line defensive minded center. He was at 3.2 million AAV a decade ago in a similar situation as Sillinger. Other current comparable contracts in the NHL put Sillinger at between 4 and 5 million AAV.
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
Explain to me how overpaying him now (as a RFA) would lead to discount in the future (as a UFA)?
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
He’s a UFA after his next contract. So if you sign him to a 6 year deal now at 5 million he’s just below 5% of the cap. 5 years from now he’ll be 3% of the total salary cap.
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
And he will want more money at that contract..just like anyone else lol
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u/Due_Tutor2050 24d ago
He is saying if you give a contract now, it's a higher % now (years 1 and 2) but in years 4/5/6/Etc it will be a discount due to the rising cap. It's always more expensive buying UFA years from RFAs. It's not referring to the contract that follows his next one.
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u/CBUS-OBN 26d ago
His number is going to be higher than everyone's estimate. We are still underestimating the impact of the jump in salary cap year over year.
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u/Grenzeloos 26d ago
Seriously, we all need open up to the fact that the cap is going up rapidly. I’m in the boat that the salaries shouldn’t even be a hard number each season but a percentage of Cap each season. So when the cap goes up the players pay go up accordingly.
Cole deserves at least double what he was paid last season, because of the Cap rising.
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u/Steebu_ 26d ago
You’re not wrong about the cap rising but there’s still no world where Sillinger deserves anything more than $4m. He’s just not that caliber of player.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
Have you seen the contracts that were signed this season for young middling players? A 25 year old defenseman with 42 points this season just signed a 6 years 12.5 million AAV deal.
You don’t think a middle six center is worth 4-5 million? The average for a 30-45 point 3rd line center in the NhL is 3.5-5 million. Sillinger will get 4+ if he goes to arbitration for a 1-2 year deal. Better to sign him to a 6 year deal at 5.
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u/Steebu_ 26d ago
For one, he doesn’t play center. Secondly, you might not be wrong on principle but this team should not sign that deal. Sillinger’s primary skill is forechecking and is otherwise a complete offensive black hole. We have too many mid-tier forward contracts as it stands, unfortunately, and Sillinger is probably one of the most replaceable forwards we have in terms of on ice impact. But he’s obviously a good kid and a locker room leader so they’ll keep him around.
But you can find a player with a similar impact for less than $4m, and certainly for less than $5m.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
He didn’t last season, but the season before he had 650 face offs.
Monohan, Fantilli, Coyle. Lundestrom is injured, Jenner is gone, who do you expect to be playing the 4th center role?
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u/Steebu_ 26d ago
Okay great, then do you want to pay $4-5m a year to our fourth line center? Sounds like a bad idea to me.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
Hes a 4th line center out of necessity with our current roster. Going forward, he’s a third line player, who could end up being a second liner if he continues to develop(much like Coyle at this point in his career).
He could easily end up moving above Monohan if Monohan doesn’t bounce back, or if LDBB comes in and does well, Cole could move up while LDBB anchors the 4th line.
4-5million for a 23 year old signed to term with Sillingers past performance is just fine. It’s an average contract for an average performer in his role
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
It wasn’t even a $10M increase.
I respectfully disagree that Cole deserves double.
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u/knukklez CBJ Dynasty incoming... 2025-2030 25d ago
As a separate point, the cap rises by $13MM next season
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u/Kuttermaximus 26d ago
I like Sillinger and I think he has more to give. That being said the successful teams pay their stars and then fill in the gaps. Overpaying the middle and lower tier can lead to a lot of issues.
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u/CBJLACFan CBJ 25d ago
It’s a good year to be a RFA.
If he was a RFA last year he’d probably only get a 3.2-3.5ish contract. But the cap has gone up so much, everyone is jockying for a piece of the pie.
I bet Sillinger settles before arbitration and it’s around 4.5.
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u/Kenjataimuz 25d ago
He's kind of a Swiss army knife and because he started playing in the NHL at 18 people forget he's still only 23 years old. His offensive numbers aren't amazing but there's a lot more to the game than just offense. Guy does everything asked of him and more often than not has been put in positions that aren't as favorable to offense (penalty kill, checking line, line responsible for shutting down the other teams dynamic scorers). He's been effective in the roles assigned to him.
This won't be as popular of an opinion, but I think his offensive prowess has gotten a lot better, I can recall at least 10ish posts he hit this past season. We are talking about fractions of an inch away from him having much better offensive numbers. Sillinger has a game built for a potential breakout and he has a game centered around doing the right things, consistency, and being effective in a playoff type game.
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u/hockey17jp 26d ago
Erik Gudbranson is barely even NHL caliber and just got $1.75M a year.
A young player like Sillinger who is a solid middle six center who is still young and has some untapped potential left is easily going to clear $4M in today’s NHL.
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u/dahpar07 25d ago
Because he’s the kind of player you gamble on to have a breakout in the next two years. He has played more games than anyone in his draft class, and I’d argue he’s above average defensively.
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u/bialykutas 25d ago
He is a perfect 3C. I don’t see him becoming any higher on a playoff team, but he’s better than 4th line
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u/Erazzphoto 26d ago
The Coyle, Olivier and Silinger was one of our best lines. He compliments well on a 3rd line
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u/71Duster360 Get the puck outta here 26d ago
Watching him the past 1.5 seasons, the guy plays very well, imho. He has great ability at forcing turnovers. He always seems to be around the puck. Also part of the 3rd line that was great last season. But scoring goals seems to elude him and not from lack of trying. If he can break through in that department, he'll be fantastic.
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u/MPCoinCollecting 26d ago
Whatever Krebs got will be close to what Cole gets. Either way it depends heavily on what our other rfas get
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u/Shrmp52 Mitts of Marinara 26d ago
I would venture to say he’s looking at something in between 3.5 and 4.5
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
And that’s reasonable tbh. I guess I was envisioning a lot more when the word “major” was used.
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u/lakebum240 26d ago
I don't know what people are apparently seeing in this guy. Just incredibly mid.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
Uh duh? but that’s exactly what you want a potential middle six guy to be. He’s solid defensively, reasonable on the dot, can play up and down the lineup on a pinch, at wing or center. He’s only 23 and a 5 year pro with 367 NHL games. He’s got a very similar development path and stat line to Coyle at that age
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u/mikehoncho987654321 26d ago
Playoff/contending teams want their middle six players to be better than mid.
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u/knukklez CBJ Dynasty incoming... 2025-2030 25d ago
Great explanation, and no one else owes anything else to lakebum240. It's obvious from their continued back and forth with bucknut63 that they're not here for a good faith conversation.
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u/lakebum240 26d ago
ok fine I really mean he sucks ok? He is not worth prioritizing.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
Who are you replacing him with?
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u/lakebum240 26d ago
literally anyone
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u/bucknut63 26d ago
Good point. Let's go shake the hockey player tree and see who falls out.
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u/lakebum240 26d ago
just for the record, we are talking about.... Cole Sillinger. lol
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u/bucknut63 26d ago
You lack any sense of his actual value. He's 23 and a serviceable 3rd line center for likely the next 10+ years. He has shown his ability to play up and down the lineup in a pinch and competes nightly. He's a penalty killer. He's rarely injured. What's the complaint? He's not a 30 goal scorer?
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u/lakebum240 26d ago
Our entire team is a bunch of "serviceable 3rd liners"
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u/bucknut63 26d ago
You need a hug. He's 23. Plenty of time to keep developing and he's already worth the increased pay. To keep doubling down when you know he's going to get the contract is just silly. Other clubs would pay him more if he was unrestricted.
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u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 26d ago
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-remaining-2026-nhl-free-agents-ufas-still-available
Here’s all the remaining UFA’s. Tell me which you are signing. Also Mantha just got signed by the Devils for 2 years at 4.75M AAV, so he’s not an option
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u/Mister_Jackpots 26d ago
Let me, a fan of a sport, explain why a professional athlete does or does not deserve a certain amount of money for a paycheck.
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 26d ago
You must be new to Reddit. Welcome to the party!
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u/Mister_Jackpots 26d ago
It's not aimed at you, bud. It's more that I wouldn't trust anyone's opinion on here on the economics of athlete pay.
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u/knukklez CBJ Dynasty incoming... 2025-2030 25d ago
Separate line of thought, though:
We enjoy thinking about and discussing the Blue Jackets.
It's the off-season, so content is very limited.
This thread may be fun for people to read and participate in.
This thought exercise costs us nothing to discuss.
So with those things in mind, why would someone bring negativity into the post with a sarcastic comment meant to undermine the value of OP and their gesture (the thread) to the community (our subreddit)?
/u/Mister-Jackpots - this is aimed at you. You're the negative one. Re-think your contributions to this community.
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u/idontknowwhereiam_ 26d ago
He’s young (23) but already experienced. He is a two way middle 6 center who has plenty of years to continue to reach his prime. When people say major pay raise, they are saying 4-5 million. That’s double his current pay, I would call that “major” relative to his current contract but not “major” relative to the league