Restricted free agent Ryan Johansen’s agent Kurt Overhardt and the Columbus Blue Jackets have made their cases and issued their contract proposals. They’re watching training camp slip away, but with the start of the regular season approaching, both sides appear to have hunkered down.
The two sides haven’t talked to each other in over a week, according to the Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline.
Columbus has offered Johansen a few contracts of varying length, including a two-year, $6 million deal. The 22-year-old forward had been reportedly seeking double that on a two-year contract, but he’s believed to have lowered his demands to $9.4 million total over two seasons.
That’s still a sizable gap for them to overcome and at this point, both sides might be waiting for the other to cave. Meanwhile, Johansen is losing valuable time to properly prepare for the start of the 2014-15 campaign while the Blue Jackets attempt to cope with the loss of Nathan Horton (back) on top of Johansen.
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Even some agents don’t get what Overhardt is doing with Johansen demands