While talks with Ryan Johansen remain at a standstill, Jarmo Kekalainen is taking care of other business.
The Blue Jackets have signed forward Corey Tropp, who was a restricted free agent, to a two-year, one-way contract extension.
Tropp is coming off a respectable campaign where he tallied 11 points and had a plus-2 penalty differential while playing limited minutes in 53 games split between Buffalo and Columbus. While he was curb stomped possession wise at times - his shot attempt for rate was 48.5% on a team over 52% - his overall production was OK.
At 24 years of age, he still has potential to grow, and was worth giving another contract.
He figures to battle with recently acquired Jerry D'Amigo and Kekalainen's only free agent signee Brian Gibbons, among others, for a bottom-6 spot on the team this year.
In the event he loses his spot and fails to make the team, he'll be a nice player for Springfield to have and will provide depth for the organization. Should the team run into some injuries - which will surely happen at some point - they have a young body with NHL experience who hasn't reached his prime to step into the lineup.
With Tropp signed, Johansen, D'Amigo and Tim Erixon are the remaining notable RFAs in need of new contracts.
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