The Ryan Johansen saga is over
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,
Who will blink first in Blue Jackets, Johansen dispute?
JOHANSEN LIKELY TO BLINK FIRST? It won’t surprise many around the league if Ryan Johansen’s contract dispute goes into the NHL regular season. The Blue Jackets continue to hold firm on offering a two year deal worth $7 million, while Johansen seeks $6.5 million over two years. Who will blink first with the two sides $3 million apart? Johansen’s agent Kurt Overhardt is a strong believer that a player holding out gives the player the leverage, not the team. “If he’s not in camp, the pressure slips to the other side,” Overhardt told the Columbus-Dispatch. The obvious scenario would be meeting in middle at $5 million but don’t look for the Blue Jackets to cave in. If there’s going to