Veteran forward Sean Monahan turned in one of the best feel-good stories of the 2023-24 NHL season. After struggling with injuries over the last few years, Monahan finally remained healthy. And he put in a very solid performance that saw him get rewarded in NHL Free Agency. He signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets once the market opened on July 1.
Monahan split the 2023-24 campaign with the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets. Overall, he scored 26 goals and 59 points through 83 regular season contests. He also appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Jets this past spring. However, things did not go as he and Winnipeg hoped. After the Jets won Game 1, they lost the next four to the Colorado Avalanche.
NHL Free Agency has thinned out considerably since the market opened at the beginning of the month. With this in mind, let's take a deeper look at this contract. Here are our grades for Sean Monahan and the Blue Jackets after they put pen to paper on a five-year contract.
Sean Monahan signs with Blue Jackets
This contract is a huge positive for Monahan. In fact, it's hard to find much fault with it at all. For a time, it seemed as if the veteran forward would never reach his previous heights. And while his totals are a far cry from what they once were, they show that he can still be a very productive player on the ice. Hopefully, his injury issues are behind him and he can continue playing at full health.
When NHL Free Agency opened, a multi-year contract seemed a bit far-fetched. Many expected him to receive a raise, sure, but his injury history made a multi-year contract less likely. That was until the morning of July 1 when reports indicated he would sign for multiple years. In the end, he receives a long-term contract from the Blue Jackets.
To make things even better for Monahan, he has complete control over his future. The Blue Jackets gave the veteran center a full no-movement clause for all five years of this contract. As a result, he cannot be traded or even waived without giving permission for that move to occur.
This is a perfect contract for Monahan. He no longer has to worry about being traded after being dealt twice since the end of the 2021-22 campaign. Additionally, he cashed in on a successful and healthy resurgent season with the Canadiens and Jets. If he continues to play well, his feel-good story may certainly continue.
Blue Jackets sign Sean Monahan
Switching perspectives, it's not too difficult to understand what the Blue Jackets were trying to do. Monahan has proven he can still contribute at a high level when healthy. And they certainly could use depth down the middle behind star prospect Adam Fantilli. However, there is a lot of risk involved in this deal, and the fit is also a bit questionable.
Monahan's injury history simply cannot be ignored. After all, it came very close to driving him out of the league. To give a player this kind of term is already risky enough. Add in the fact that the Blue Jackets are limited in their ability to move the contract if need be adds another layer of risk.
Monahan is the latest in a small wave of established players to come to the Blue Jackets. He adds to an already confusing mix of up-and-coming prospects and established players with something to prove. However, the fault does not lie with the man who negotiated this contract. Don Waddell only recently became general manager, so the roster construction and the questionable fit are not on him.
What is on him, though, is the term and full no-movement clause. While Monahan is reuniting with former Calgary Flames teammate Johnny Gaudreau, this is still an incredibly risky move for Columbus. The feel-good story works well from the player's perspective. On the team's end of this, though, it doesn't go very far.
Grades and final thoughts
Sean Monahan receives a high mark for his five-year contract with the Blue Jackets. He parlayed a resurgent season into a massive payday in NHL Free Agency. Additionally, he earned increased term and full control over his future. For Columbus, they get an average grade. Monahan doesn't fit perfectly with this team. And while that isn't on their new regime, the risk involved with the term and the full no-move clause could blow up in their face. It'll certainly be interesting to see how this pans out from the team's perspective moving forward.
Sean Monahan grade: A+
Columbus Blue Jackets grade: C
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