Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger finds himself in a sticky situation, and it's not completely fair to him either. 

The story of the summer has been Adam Fantilli, Jet Greaves, and Cole Sillinger. The "big 3 RFAs," as they've been called, will forever be linked. 

With Jet Greaves signing his 3-year, $5 million AAV deal today, that leaves Sillinger and Fantilli as the only RFA's who need new deals. 

With Greaves' deal, that leaves $17,270,001 in cap space for the CBJ. It's possible that the salary cap could be a few million higher if certain players find themselves in Cleveland at the start of the season. 

With Sillinger just finishing a deal that paid him $2,250,000 a season, he will be looking for a raise, no doubt. 

But Don Waddell is in a tough position too, because if he gives Sillinger too much, there won't be enough to sign Fantilli. How is that possible, you ask? Well, remember Connor Bedard just signed for $15 million, and Leo Carlsson got $18. 

Some experts predict Fantilli's deal to be in the $13-14 million per season range. Now let's say Sillinger gets $5 million per season; that only leaves $12 million for Fantilli. Would that be enough to sign Fantilli?

Is Sillinger anywhere close to a $5 million per season player? If Sillinger and the team get to arbitration, I could see him getting somewhere in the $4 million range. That "might" be enough to get Fantilli signed. 

A source close to the situation tells me that Cole Sillinger is "nervous" about the possibility of an arbitration hearing. He probably should be nervous, because it is unfair to him that one of the CBJ's key pieces has to wait until Sillinger is signed to sign himself. 

If Sillinger gets more than expected, Don Waddell will then need to make changes to the roster to fit Fantilli in. This summer could get even crazier if that happens. 

Sillinger's arbitration hearing is scheduled for this coming Monday, so the two sides have plenty of time to get a deal done. 

The drama never stops in Columbus.