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In an effort to jump-start negotiations and get their franchise player signed, the Blue Jackets appear to be open to a long-term deal with Ryan Johansen.

For months Bill Zito, who has handled contract talks for Columbus, and the Jackets' staff have taken the 'two-year deal or nothing stance', but have since concluded a long-term contract wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

#CBJ won't do 1 yr deal (arb) or 4 yr deal (UFA). But, after saying they'd only do a bridge, hearing they'll listen to long-term deal.

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) September 16, 2014

That's an interesting wrinkle, but still seems a 2-yr deal is most likely. If they're $3M apart/year on a 2-year deal, imagine the 6-yr gap.

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) September 16, 2014

I'm sure Johansen's camp is happy the Blue Jackets have become more flexible in terms of the length of a possible contract but, as Portzline said, the gap on a long-term pact is likely colossal.

Columbus would probably be willing to dish out more than the $4 million per they're sticking to on a two-year deal, but if Johansen's camp wanted $6.5 per and they were offering $4.5, for example, the gap would be $12 million on a six-year deal.

It'll be interesting to see what route Zito and co. go here. There's a lot of work to be done, but Columbus becoming more flexible on term could be a turning point.

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