At the end of the 2016-17 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets were nearly a cap team. The team had spent $71,408,979 of the $73 million dollar cap, leaving them $1,591,021 on the last day of the year. This figure did not include the long term injured reserve relief the team received from the cap hit of David Clarkson, whose $5.25 million cap hit did not count on the team’s day to day spending.
Several contracts fell off after the season ended: Alexander Wennberg, Anton Forsberg, and Josh Anderson need new contracts as restricted free agents.