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Tryin' Ryans: Johansen and Bobby |
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The Ryan Johansen contract negotiation/soap opera is becoming more tense and dramatic than an episode of “The Blacklist”. that the forward left Columbus for his home in Vancouver on Wednesday.
On Wednesday afternoon, I listened intently as a frustrated and disgusted Jax President of Hockey Operations John Davidson told Dave Naylor and Dave Hodge (TSN 1050, Toronto) that he has had it up to here with Johansen’s agent Kurt Overhardt.
Davidson stated that he is all about transparency and fairness and that he is irked at Overhardt because the Blue Jackets have offered several proposals that the club feels have been more than generous and fair to their 22 year old 6’3” 220 lb. power center who is a former 4th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.
Davidson revealed that he, GM Jarmo Kekolainen and AGM Bill Zito have crafted a 6 year deal worth $32 million that was rejected by Overhardt. The Jax also pitched an 8 year, $46 million contract offer that was also shot down. JD said that his club also offered a two year bridge deal in the $3.5 million range, to which Overhardt countered with his own version of a bridge deal: 2 years at $6+ million per season.
You see, Davidson and the Blue Jackets say that they are trying to negotiate in good faith. They feel that Overhardt isn’t of the same mindset right now. The math doesn’t lie. The Blue Jackets are being as fair as they can be with Johansen. Hell, they’ve offered him multi-year contracts that range from between $5.3-$5.75 million per season AAV. That’s John Tavares money, which in my book is fair market value. The Blue Jackets have used comparables of other centerman in the NHL to arrive at their salary proposals. What Overhardt is doing is comparing Johansen to other NHL centers who have won in the playoffs and in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Remember when Colorado Avalache upper center Matt Duchene signed a two year, $7 million bridge contract? How’d that work out for him?
The Blue Jackets are not averse to paying Johansen #1 center money. First, they want him to prove to them that last season’s 33 goal (7 PPG, 5 GWG) explosion was not a fluke. JD is saying, go ahead and score 40 or 50 goals and we’ll back p the Brinks truck for you, and rightly so. Overhardt is saying give us the fat contract right damn now; we aren’t willing to wait for two years.
One season does not a career make. The Blue Jackets want a bigger sample size before they sign Johansen to a 7 year deal worth $46-$49 million. That’s their right to do so. Johansen’s saying “show me the money NOW”.
This thing is as ugly a situation as we’ve seen in the NHL in quite some time. Its getting uglier.
On Wednesday afternoon, the acrimony grew to epic proportions when Overahrdt instructed his client to grab his stuff and to fly home to Vancouver after it was learned that the Blue Jackets were refusing to meet with Overhardt after multi-rounds of this absurd negotiation.
Overhardt told the AP:
“Talks (were) indicating that they weren’t going to allow the player be present at the facility,”…”We just thought it was a good opportunity that he leave town and not be a distraction to his teammates".
All thirty NHL teams open their training camps at 8am Thursday morning. Johansen won’t be able to attend if he’s at his home in VanCity. The Blue Jackets don’t the buzz kill right now. As an organization, they have a lot of positive mojo going for them right now after their gritty six game playoff performance against Pittsburgh in May, their trading for Scott Hartnell in July, and their kids winning the highly regarded Traverse City Prospects Tournament. They don’t need a black cloud hanging over their team during training camp.
On Monday, Kekalainen noted that the attention of he, Zito, and Davidson is “about the team, not one guy.” That’s when Davidson dumped kerosene on the inferno when he accused Overhardt of trying to “extort” a heavy contract from the Blue Jackets, or else.
Davidson said that if a mutually beneficial, fair deal cannot get struck with “Joey” that the team is prepared to move on without him. Does that mean JD will trade Johansen if the two sides continue to throw hand grendades at one another. Yes, it just might come to that. The Blue Jackets have leverage to use against Overhardt right now because they are bursting at the seams with exquisite young forward stud prospects who just won the Traverse City Prpsects Tourney on Tuesday night. The Blue Jackets have Kerby Rychel, Marko Dano, Sonny Milano, Alexander Wenneberg, and Oliver Bjorkstrand locked and loaded in their organizational pipeline. Davidson may eventually opt to call off contract talks with Johansen’s camp and then trade him for more assets. Or, the two sides may kiss, make up, and come to their senses like Ryan O’Reilly and the Colorado Avalanche did earlier this summer.
I'm willing to bet that Overhardt's phone is blowing up right now with NHL GMs phoning him to discuss trade opportunities for Johansen. Would I take him? Damn right I would. He's a 22 year old power center. He's only going to get better as he matures. He's a solid 5 on 5 contributor and can be a difference maker on the power play and penalty kill. He plays 19-20 minutes a game and is always around the puck. He's not a Rick Nash style forward. He actually uses his size and skill to leverage opponents off pucks and creates turnovers.
The Blue Jackets open the 2013-14 season on the road in Buffalo on October 9th. They will do so with or without Johansen.
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The Ottawa Senators want to sign, seal and deliver Bobby Ryan for the next seven years. They have offered Ryan 49 million reasons to sign immediately on the dotted line.
On Wednesday, Ryan pumped the brakes and slowed down long enough to explain why he hasn’t signed the long term contract extension yet.
"Everything that I've said and still feel is that I'd love to be here long term. You need some assurance and some motivating factor. To not get it done at this early stage isn't a tragedy. We've still got a year to get there. Everybody is fairly confident that we will."
There have been reports in Ottawa that Ryan wants his demands met before he commits to a new long term deal so that there are no questions later on in the relationship.
On Wednesday, Ryan explained himself.
"I've never said that. Everybody has speculated that," he Ryan. "My role is going to have to take a step forward in the leadership department to be a guy that is counted on night in and night out to provide offence for the team.
"As much as that was my role last year, with Jason gone, it's going to be expanded. That's going happen with 4-5-or-6 guys. It's going to be by committee. All I've said is I'd like an expanded role across the board. Everything I've talked about with (Paul MacLean) and Bryan, that seems to be their feeling as well."
Sure, the money will be great. But Ryan wants more than money. He wants an expanded role on the Senators, whose last two captains have skated stateside. Jason Spezza was traded to Dallas in July and Daniel Alfredsson signed as a UFA in Detroit in July 2013. Ryan isn’t satisfied with playing only 16 minutes TOI per game. Ryan’s ice time was limited last season as he played with the pain of his sports hernia all season long. He had surgery this summer to correct the abdominal issue and he says that he is ready to eat up more ice time this season. He wants more ice time. Hell, he deserves more ice time than most other Sens forwards. The guy is a bona fide 40 goal scorer and can take over a game all by himself. Now that Spezza’s point-per-game production is gone, Paul MacLean will need to be creative about where he gets his offense from. The Sens spent an inordinate amount of time on the penalty kill last season because their largely young group took a lot of undisciplined penalties. Ryan would sit for minutes at a time as the Sens PKers were killing off penalties. Ryan played the PK for Randy Caryle in Anaheim. He’s a pretty darn good PKer, however, he hasn’t been given the opportunity to kill penalties in Ottawa. He’s hoping that his many conversations with his head coach and GM about playing him on the PK will change this season.
"I did it early in Anaheim and then I kind of got moved away from that. Yes and no. It's been awhile since I did it really consistently," said Ryan. "It's a role that I've always embraced, liked it. Mac's big concern was that I'd be cheating all the time and trying to get breakaways. I did assure him that wouldn't be an issue."
Thanks, Senators TV
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All thirty teams in the NHL will open their training camps on Thrsady. The Buffalo Sabres will use Day 1 to conduct fitness testing and physical examinations. The team will hit the ice time for the first time on Friday morning.
Th exhibition season will begin this weekend when the Washington Capitals will host the Buffalo Sabres at 5pm on Sunday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on NHL Network in Buffalo.
The Sabres have invited 60 players to the pro training camp. They are:
Forwards:
Luke Adam
Joel Armia
Justin Bailey
Nick Baptiste
Joe Blandisi
Dan Catenacci
William Carrier
Eric Cornel
Zac Dalpe
Nic Deslauriers
Matt Ellis
Tyler Ennis
Matt Flynn
Marcus Foligno
Brian Gionta
Zemgus Girgenson
Mikhail Grigorenko
Cody Hodgson
Colin Jacobs
Mike Joly
Pat Kaleta
Vaclav Karabacek
Justin Kea
Johann Larsson
Brendan Lemieux
Cody McCormick
Torrey Mitchell
Matt Moulson
Sam Reinhart
Jordan Samuels-Thomas
Tim Schaller
Drew Stafford
Chris Stewart
Kevin Sundher
Phil Varone
Defense:
Brady Austin
Drew Bagnall
Andre Benoit
Josh Gorges
Jerome Leduc
Ryan MacKinnon
Brycen Martin
Jake McCabe
Andrej Meszaros
Tyler Myers
Nicki Petrcki
Mark Pysyk
Rasmus Ristolainen
Jack Rodewald
Chad Ruhwedel
Tyson Strachan
Jared Walsh
Mike Weber
Nikita Zadorov
Goalies:
Francois Brassard
Jhonas Enroth
Matt Hackett (injured; will not participate in training camp)
Nathan Lieuwen
Andrej Makarov
Michal Neuvirth
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Ottawa Senators training camp begins tomorrow morning. Their power forward, Bobby Ryan, is entering the final year of his contract. He will earn $5.1 million this season and is said to be seeking a long term deal in the range of seven years and $7 million per season.
Ryan is a 4-time 30 goal scorer who will command huge dollars on the open market when he becomes UFA on July 1, 2015.
Sens GM Bryan Murray and Ryan's agent have been talking about an extension for Ryan for the past few weeks. Ryan has said on the record that he likes playing in Ottawa and that he would like to re-sign there.
Comes word today that Ryan has balked at a 7-year, $49 million contract offer from the Senators.
Ryan has been skating with his teammates in Ottawa for the past few weeks and has said on the record that he likes playing in Ottawa. He's also said that he wouldn't mind signing a long term extension to remain a Senator after this season. His current contract expires in July. He will earn $5.1 million this season and is said to be seeking a seven to 8 year deal worth $7+ million per season. Ryan is also said to be looking for an "expanded role" which is believed to mean a penalty killing role. Ryan has said that just because the season is starting doesn't close off all opportunities to hammer out a contract extension.
Has Ryan pulled a Thomas Vanek?
You'll recall that last February, the former Buffalo Sabrs sniper told NY Islanders GM Garth Snow that he would entertain an opportunity to sign a long term deal to stay and play with John Tavares for many years to come. When Snow made Vanek a 7-year, $51 million offer, the former 40 goal scorer passed on the offer and was then traded tro the Montreal Canadiens for a coupl of prospects. Vanek signed low-dough UFA deal with the Minnesota Wild in July.
Is Ryan heading down the same path with the Senators?
Why wouldn't he autograph a $49 million guaranteed contract the minute it was presented to he and his agent?
By not signing the deal in real time, it opens the door for 29 other NHL GMs to phone Ryan's agent to inquire about his services. Philadelphia, Buffalo and other NHL clubs have expressed interest in Ryan in the past.
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What's eating Nikita Zadorov?
You’ll recall that Cassidy benched the big Russian midway through the second period of Monday’s blowout loss to Dallas. Zadorov’s play to that point had been less than satisfactory. Cassidy didn’t like Zadorov’s effort so he gave him a period and a half off to think about his contributions, or lack thereof. Zadorov could not have picked a worse time to get himself called by his head coach. Sabres training camp opens on Thursday and for the first time in a longtime, there will be roster spots available to be earned by young forwards and D. Top prospects like Zadorov are usually foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to pull on their NHL club’s sweater and to lead the charge to a championship. The Traverse City tournament is an A-List destination for NHL GMs and scouts. Prospects have multiple opportunities to prove that they belong in the show. Having a great showing at Traverse City gives the player added oomph, confidence, and enthusiasm that they can use as fuel for their NHL training camp experience or their NCAA and junior hockey training camp experience.
Whats so shocking about Zadorov is that his game has been trending downward for the past four months. In four games at Traverse City, He took four penalties (4 PIMs vs. St. Louis), had 12 shots, was held scoreless, and was -2. In May, his London Knights club hosted the 2014 Memorial Cup Tournament ( 3 games played, no points, 4 PIMs, -2). He played okay. Not great or outstanding, just okay. He also had a so-so showing at Sabres Rookie Development Camp in July. The hulking Russian has added weight to his 6’5” frame this summer and one wonders if he’s having trouble maintaining the NHL tempo with his extra weight. He isn’t injured, otherwise he would have told the Sabres about it long ago, right?
Based on their performances at Traverse City, it appears to me that Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe are serious contenders to join the Buffalo D corps after training camp ends. Ristolainen and McCabe were towers of power for the Sabres at Traverse City. Coach Cassidy played the duo 25+ minutes per game. They each played 35-ish minutes in the Dallas blowout after Zadorov got nailed to the bench. So, what’s going on with Zadorov? He entered the summer as a serious contender to earn a Buffalo roster spot, however, his chances are looking bleak to me right now. He hasn’t earned an NHL roster spot yet. In fact, he’s taken a step backwards in his development with his recent sluggish play and T-City benching.
It begs the question:
Where will Zadorov play this season?
Buffalo appears to be out of the question right now.
Rochester doesn’t appear to be an option for him right now due to his age.
His only option now is heading back to the Hunter Bros. in London, Ontario. Zadorov can play his third season in the OHL and work on cleaning up his poor approach and preparation, and, the parts of his game that have been plaguing him.
Do the Hunters want him back for this season or were they counting on him earning a Buffalo roster spot?
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