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Johansen Not Digging The Bridge |
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In my humble opinion, The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to blink first before Ryan Johansen does.
The centerman and the Jax are miles apart right now. Johansen wants #1 center money in the $6M-$7M per season range. The Jax aren’t willing to go there. Johansen turned 22 on July 31 and he is already a brand name, elite centerman in the NHL.
The 6’3”, 225 lb. power center ( 4th overall pick in 2010 NHL Draft) shattered all expectations when he scored a career high 33 goals and added 30 assists in 2013-14. Johansen is mature beyond his years and is poised to dominate the for years to come. He added another deuce and four assist in six playoff games.
It would be wise of the Jax to lock him up long term now before they piss him off more by offering him the boiler plate bridge deal.
I was lucky enough to have gotten a birds eye look at Johansen’s sick skill at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo. Johansen skated on a line with Sabres banger Marcus Foligno and Canucks hammer Zack Kassian. That line was arguably Canada’s best line in the tourney as they used their size, strength, skating and skill to batter opponents. That’s is until the gold medal game vs. Russia.
Johansen’s offensive trajectory trends towards 30-35 goals and 35-40 assists per season. He’s a complete hockey player with a tremendous ceiling.The Jax got to see a preview of the chis coming attractions last season. The Jax would love to see a couple of more seasons like his 33 goal breakout season before they make the kid a $49 million player ($7M x 7 seasons).
I’m here to tell you that the Jax are kidding themselves if they think that they are going to get the kid to sign a bridge deal. He and his agent are adamant about securing a long term deal now. If they don’t get what they want, they reserve the right to hold out of training camp, and beyond.
Its September and the two sides have been playing an intense game of mental “chicken” with one another all summer long.
The Jax are all about a two-year bridge deal worth $7 million while Johansen is all about the long term deal worth $6M-$7M per season. At 22, Johansen already one of the top centers in the NHL. He’s a clone of Eric Staal. Big, strong, skilled, and has game. He hits, defends, plays special teams and will fight.
Johansen does it all. He does it all well. The Jax won't make the playoffs this season with Johansen out of their lineup for an extended period of time. They can move Boone Jenner to center to replace Johansen in the short term, however, he can't replace the offensive production that the big man can create.
The Jax refuses to budge on its position. If Johansen wants a long term deal, he’s going to have to earn it.
Jax training camp begins on September 18. The two sides have time to work out a deal. At this point, it doesn’t seem likely that a deal will get done. Its not like the two sides are a million dollars apart from one another. There is a cavernous expanse between Johansen, the best center to ever suit up for the Jax, and the team that drafted him.
Johansen and his agent have the leverage and they intend to use it to their advantage.
Blue Jax GM Jarmo Kekalainen will have his work cut out for him if another NHL club decides to offer sheet the ultra-talented Johansen.
Maybe its time for an NHL GM like Tim Murray to offer sheet Johansen.
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