Blue Jackets pending UFA Provorov open to extension with team

Columbus Blue Jackets pending unrestricted free agent Ivan Provorov has already drawn interest on the trade market, but the door is not closed on the defenceman staying put in Ohio. 

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports that a family dynamic could lead Provorov towards staying put. The update comes after LeBrun reported last month that the Blue Jackets weren't yet ready to deal the blueliner, but plan to seek a first-round pick in return closer to the deadline.

"He might still be dealt, but there's a new twist for sure," LeBrun explained Tuesday on Early Trading. "His younger brother, Vladimir Provorov, who's only 16 years old, it was announced Monday that he's committed to Ohio State University. 

"I spoke with Ivan's agent, Mark Gandler, who's also the advisor for the Provorov family, today and what Gandler told me is obviously these are separate business decisions. We have to be careful here, but that the two brothers are very close and that part of the reason why the younger brother has committed to Ohio State is that they spend a lot of time in Columbus and the Provorov family really likes Columbus.

"Now, he's not going to be at Ohio State for another two or three years because he's only 16, but it is an interesting twist in all this. One of the things that Gandler said to me today is that Provorov loves it in Columbus, and that they are 'open' to discussions about an extension with the Blue Jackets if that's something the Blue Jackets would like to entertain. 

"The door is certainly open, there have not been any contract talks yet between Provorov's camp and Don Waddell, the GM of the Blue Jackets, but I suspect that conversation will happen at some point in the new year. 

"I think what it comes down to here is that it's fine and dandy for both sides to have an open mind to continuing that relationship, but what does that mean in terms of agreeing on an extension? What's the number? 

"We know from our time at the Board of Governors meeting last week that the salary cap is going up. What it's going up to exactly remains to be seen, but it's going up. 

"One of the things that I'm sensing, as I talk to agents and front offices around the league right now, is agents and front offices aren't quite on the same page yet in a lot of cases as to what that's going to look like, in terms of the financial landscape.

"So yes, the agent's on the record with me. Provorov is open to talking an extension with the Blue Jackets, but what does that number look like?

"I still think, all things being fair, I think the Blue Jackets' number, for both term and average annual value, is obviously going to be lower than Provorov, who plays 23 minutes a night and turns 28 next month, what his number could be on July 1 on the open market. 

"There just aren't a lot of top-four defenceman that end up on the July 1 market. I don't know if they can bridge the gap. At the end of the day, if nothing else, having the younger Provorov commit to Ohio State is not nothing, so we'll see where that goes."

Provorov is in his second season with the Blue Jackets after being acquired in the summer of 2023 from the Philadelphia Flyers. He carries a cap hit of $4.725 million after the Los Angeles Kings retained a little more than $2 million of his $6.75 million salary in the three-way trade that landed him in Columbus. 

The 27-year-old blueliner has two goals and 11 points in 31 games this season while averaging 23:14 of ice time, second-highest on the team behind Zach Werenski (26:14).

Provorov was selected seventh overall by the Flyers in the 2015 draft. He has 72 goals and 260 points in 645 career games with Philadelphia and Columbus. 

The Blue Jackets sit last in the Metropolitan Division this season with an 12-14-5 record. The team has not made the playoffs since 2020.