Most of the headlines regarding the Columbus Blue Jackets paint a rosy picture, but it sounds like the team has some work to do before retaining important restricted free agent Ryan Johansen. The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline describes the negotiations as “chilly as ever.”
Has there been a thaw in contract negotiations between #CBJ and Ryan Johansen? No. Not at all. Chilly as ever. One month till camp opens.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) August 18, 2014
Portzline seemingly implies that both sides believe that they have more leverage than maybe they really do.
One thing I've learned in contract squabbles: when both sides feel they have the leverage in negotiations, there aren't any.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) August 18, 2014
Really, though, it’s understandable that both sides are at an impasse. The 22-year-old exploded in 2013-14, scoring more goals (33) and points (63) this past season than he had in 2011-12 and 2012-13 combined. His shooting percentage wasn’t outrageously high, either, at 13.9. (That might go down a bit, but it’s not like one out of every five shots resulted in a goal.)
One assumes that Johansen’s side believes he should be paid like a guy who will score 30 goals every season in a long-term deal while the Blue Jackets want him to prove that he can be that kind of scorer for a few more years before they break the bank.
Both parties would probably admit that Johansen missing time - especially regular season games - isn’t ideal, but we’ve seen that happen before. Of course, there have been plenty of instances in which seemingly ugly negotiations end in back-slaps, handshakes and smiles in the matter of a night.
We’ll just have to see how this goes, but so far it sounds like things are moving along slowly.