Today, Don Waddell, the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, announced the signing of center Cole Sillinger. The contract is for two years, worth $4.5 million ($2.25 million AAV), and extends through the 2025-26 National Hockey League season.

Waddell commented, “Cole Sillinger is an intelligent, versatile center who fiercely competes on both ends of the ice. Having played over 200 NHL games before turning 21 and coming off a stellar season, we anticipate his continued development as a player. He is set to play a pivotal role in both the current and future success of this club.”

Since making his NHL debut at age 18 in the 2021-22 season, 21-year-old Sillinger has played 220 career games for the Blue Jackets. During this time, he has scored 32 goals, assisted 42 times, totaling 74 points. He has also accumulated 105 penalty minutes and made 398 shots on goal, all while averaging 14:26 minutes on the ice per game. Sillinger was a first-round selection by Columbus, chosen 12th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft.

The forward, who stands at 6-1 and weighs 199 pounds, reached personal record highs in the 2023-24 season with the Blue Jackets. He recorded assists, points, penalty minutes, and shots on goal, with a total of 13-19-32, 46 PIM, and 157 shots on goal in 77 games. On March 5, he played his 200th career game in the NHL against Pittsburgh. He is the third player in the Blue Jackets’ history to score 30 goals (32 in total) before turning 21, following Rick Nash (58) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (47). In the 2012-22 season, he tied with Boone Jenner for the third-most goals (16) and had the seventh-most points (31) by a rookie in the franchise history, achieved in 79 games.

Sillinger, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, accumulated two goals, four assists, and six points along with 12 penalty minutes in 11 career games with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League in the 2022-23 season. During the 2020-21 season, he played with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League, scoring 24 goals, making 22 assists, and earning 46 points in 31 games. These performances earned him the league’s Rookie of the Year award. From 2018 to 2020, Sillinger had a career total of 22 goals, 33 assists, and 55 points with 22 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.

FULL COLE SILLINGER STATISTICS