The Columbus Blue Jackets are on a team on the rise but within a few weeks looked like a team that would be heading into the season suddenly trending down.
They were involved in a nasty contract negotiation with star center Ryan Johansen, Boone Jenner will start the season on the shelf with a broken hand and Nathan Horton has a really bad back.
No one knows when Horton will return or if he does, will he be productive at all, but one big issue has been resolved.
The Blue Jackets agreed this morning to a three year contract worth $12 million with Johansen. The deal, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, pays Johansen $3 million in 2014-2015, $3 million in 2015-2016 and $6 million in 2016-2017, which is the kicker as his qualifying offer in summer of 2017 would start at $6 million.
The Johansen signing is big for the Blue Jackets and upfront with the addition of Scott Hartnell, Columbus looks like a team strongly built for the playoffs.