If I was the owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets, I would fire GM Jarmo Kekalainen and sign Ryan Johansen to the long term contract he is going to sign anyways - whether that's two years from now or two weeks - he's going to sign it, so why bother with the potentially alienating drama?
I just don't understand why a GM can be allowed to get into a situation with his best player that might prevent the player from going to training camp.
Now, maybe it's ownership telling Jarmo K to take up this fight in the first place, in which case, I can at least understand his positioning here. However, if he is doing this out of some misguided principle, he should be immediately canned.
Here's some quick reasons why:
1. If you sing him to a two year deal, he's only going to cost more $ two years from now. Singing him to a long term deal today ensures he signs with the lowest cap hit and cost possible.
2. If you do sign him for a short term deal, isn't that like betting against your best and franchise player, since if he explodes in those two years, things will just get more expensive?
3. He is a 22 year old 6'3 monster of a centre who just scored 30 goals in his third year.
Look, I understand that you don't just want to hand out 8 year deals to any guy who gets 30 goals and you would like to see him maybe repeat his season two or three times before you commit, but this isn't a perfect world.
The risk that he's a one year wonder is pretty low. His size, skill level, pedigree and youth suggest that he'll be a star in the NHL for years to come. Sure, it's a risk that you sign him long term and regret it, but it's just as risky that you sign him for two years, he scores 80 goals across the length of those two years and then you just end up signing him for more money than you would today on a contract where two of his best years are gone and the two additional ones at the end of the deal are worse.
From a risk vs. reward standpoint, it's less risky to sign him to an 8 year deal today than it is to sign him for two years and save some short term money, only to have to pay him more and get worse value in years 7/8.
Basically, the Blue Jackets who finally have a decent team and a star to build around in the post-Nash era are playing with fire. It's entirely possible they've already gone too far and irrevocably damaged their relationship with their best player. So enter Arizona.
The Coyotes have the cap room to sign Johansen, they could use a forward star, in fact they desperately need one, and they probably have the pieces to make a good trade.
The Coyotes could start the conversation by offering them Yandle and next years first round pick (given the perceived reputation of this years 'Yotes, this has lottery potential) and then go from there. That's already a steep price, but if it's not enough yet, maybe adding in Henrik Samuelson, who's pretty much NHL ready and has high potential would be.
I would be happy with a Yandle, Samuelson and first rounder for Ryan Johansen. I don't pretend to know if the Coyotes would like that, or if that's even enough to land Johansen. All I know is that Johanson and Evander Kane are two players who don't seem long for their current teams and that the Coyotes are in desperate need of a player like either of them, and they happen to be sitting on Keith Yandle - a highly valued star defenseman that they don't really even need.
What do you think? Just as kind of a fun pre-season activity, what would you trade for Johansesn? For Kane? Would you rather keep Yandle?
Thanks for reading.