Coming off the best season in franchise history, the future seemed bright for the young Blue Jackets. They had a stacked farm system, an elite goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky, a deep group of defensemen that included future Norris Trophy contender Ryan Murray, and a deeper group of physical, skilled forwards headlined by rising star Ryan Johansen. Sure, Johansen was a restricted free agent, but it'd be crazy to think they wouldn't get him inked quickly...
Cue the ominous music.
Johansen's agent, Kurt Overhardt, has a penchant for tough negotiations and occasional holdouts, so it's perhaps no surprise that Johansen is back home in Vancouver instead of in Columbus as training camp begins. But after a fairly quiet summer in which the two sides seemed to make some progress by agreeing to a two-year 'bridge' deal, even if they were millions apart in salary, things blew up completely over the last few days, with GM Jarmo Kekalainen and president John Davidson both publicly raking Overhardt over the coals. Davidson even went so far as to reveal what the club has offered Johansen, and that's where the story really starts to get interesting.
When Davidson spilled the beans, he said the Jackets had offered Johansen a two-year deal worth $6 million; a six-year deal worth $32 million; and an eight-year deal worth $46 million. That's significant. Back in July, the Jackets were adamant that they weren't going to offer him anything beyond a two or three year bridge deal, so clearly when he showed up for voluntary practices a few weeks ago the organization liked what they saw enough to offer him something longer. However, that seems to be the extent of their flexibility. Overhardt, for his part, has set his sights much higher, looking for a two-year contract worth $13 million, with no indication of what it would take to get Johansen's name on something longer that would buy out any of his unrestricted free agent seasons.
It's easy to see both sides of the argument. Johansen is the 22-year-old power center every single team in the NHL would love to have on their roster, a player who led the Blue Jackets in scoring last season and who's coming off his first of what will likely be numerous 30-goal campaigns. $6.5 mill a year is a lot, but it hardly seems unreasonable given Johansen's 2013-2014 season and his importance to his franchise.
Unless you look at history. To pick the example the Blue Jackets have focused on, two years/$13 million would be almost double what Matt Duchene got from the Avs in 2012 on a bridge deal, and while Duchene doesn't have Johansen's physical presence on the ice and was coming off a weak, injury-plagued season when he signed it, he also had a longer track record of NHL success on his resume than Johansen does. Heck, the contract Duchene signed after establishing himself as a top-line, point-per-game center is still only worth $6 million a year.
In addition, while offer sheets from other clubs have become exceedingly rare, you'd think if anyone was worth big money plus the multiple first round pick compensation for signing someone else's RFA, it would be a player like Johansen. And yet, nobody else seems to have stepped up to the table to try and steal him away from the Jackets.
Normally you'd think the two sides would compromise on the dollar amount and get Johansen signed to that bridge deal, but with the Blue Jackets trying so hard to make Overhardt the bad guy you have to wonder if the situation has gotten too personal for an easy fix. Supposedly he sent in a new two-year offer to the Blue Jackets on Thursday afternoon, but it's doubtful Overhardt budged much off that $13 million figure.
Could this latest offer be the one to get the ball rolling towards a deal, and have Johansen back in Columbus without missing too much of camp? Sure, anything's possible. But it seems more likely at the moment that both sides have dug in their heels, and it might take the pressure created by the beginning of the regular season before one or both parties blinks. The Jackets' October schedule includes a West Coast swing, and they have a track record of slow starts, so if the club limps out of the gate the fan pressure on the front office to get Johansen back in uniform could be overwhelming. On the other hand, if the club roars through October with a significant contribution from a youngster like Alexander Wennberg, who only got his spot in the lineup because Johansen wasn't there, Overhardt's leverage might dwindle to almost nothing.
Sit tight, Blue Jackets fans and Johansen owners. This could be a bumpy ride.