I know what you are thinking opening up this article, a bridge crossed, really? Well the creative juices are running a little low today but the excitement for the upcoming season has reached an all time high with the signing of Ryan Johansen. Johansen and Co. have reached a three year deal with the Blue Jackets, coming in at 4 million AAV, which is good news for the fans of the team. In years 1 and 2 it will cost the team 3 million and in year 3 they will be paying 6 million. At 3 yrs 12 million the deal is fair for all involved, the big news though is that if a qualifying offer is needed the Jackets would need to match at 6 million. While that qualifying offer may sting for the front office they still do get to hold him as a RFA at the end of this deal.
The big hullabaloo at the beginning of the negotiations was over term and how Johansen wanted a longer term than the two year bridge deal, well it looks like he got it. He regrettably at that point called it “a slap in the face”, a remark that didn’t go over all that well in the buckeye state. Looking back on it now though, it seemed to be more of a negotiation ploy than any real ill will with the front office. Trying to push the front office to a long term deal may seem like a good idea in the Johansen camp, but if anything he should be excited about this deal. If Johansen gets anywhere close to this past season’s numbers, he will easily make more money next time they are at the negotiation table. As Coach mentioned in his great Union Blue article, he really needs to believe in himself because he will be in a situation shortly where he will be able to cash in.
I wrote in a previous article about how this “bridge deal” could end up being the best move in the long term for him and I still believe that. The real key in this situation is Johansen himself, many bring up his time spent in Springfield but in reality that situation is an outlier when looking at Johansen’s body of work. You put him in Springfield and he reacted favorably in a situation that was less than ideal. You have an opportunity to mold the perfect CBJ player in Johansen and this move today is the first step in a long series of moves to lock down the young core. The big pieces are set; so tell me Jackets fans, how many days till October 9th?
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