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Perhaps the most interesting storyline to follow in Columbus this off-season will be what they do with rising star Ryan Johansen, who's in need of a new contract.

Johansen is a restricted free agent, so he doesn't have much leverage when it comes to signing an extension with the team.

He'll re-sign with the Blue Jackets, it's simply a matter of whether the team wants to sign him to a short-term prove it contract, or elects to give him a long-term deal.

In most cases I like the option of a longer deal, as you can save a lot of money down the road (see: John Tavares, James van Riemsdyk, etc.) if the player turns out as expected.

Here are Johansen's numbers over his first three seasons, as well as some comparable players, and the extensions they received coming out of their entry-level contracts.



JvR and Brad Marchand look to be the best comparables for Johansen over the first three seasons of their careers in terms of total production, but Johansen's situation was much different than theirs.

JvR and Marchand improved each season, but the difference wasn't dramatically different on a year-to-year basis.

With Johansen, you have a guy who was a healthy scratch in the AHL playoffs only a year ago, after a poor regular season in Columbus. Obviously Johansen bounced back in a big way with a 33-goal, 63-point campaign, which was the best season any of the three players put together during their first contracts.

Johansen showed he's on the cusp of becoming a star, so I doubt the Blue Jackets will be able to work him down to a short-term contract similar to what Jakub Voracek, Colin Wilson and Marcus Johansson signed, even if Columbus wanted to go that route.

Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has done a nice job thus far, and I think the smart move for him would be to get Johansen signed to a long-term deal similar to the one the Flyers gave JvR a few years back. I think they've seen enough from Johansen to be confident that even if he doesn't develop into a star, a deal like that won't kill you.

With the cap going up this summer, and expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, getting Johansen locked up to a long-term cap friendly deal could pay dividends. That way a core player is locked up below market value, and that'd allow the team financial flexibility down the road to surround him with quality players to try and build a true contender.

Obviously it's a much different situation, but Montreal elected to give PK Subban a two-year contract on the cheap, and now they're going to be forced to hand out a massive contract. Subban will likely get a max-length 8-year deal, and come in with a cap hit of $7 million or more.

I think the reward of signing Johansen to a long-term deal outweighs the risk, and that's the route I'd take.

Will Kekäläinen feel the same way?

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Jackets posts:

Blue Jackets scoring chance numbers: forwards

Blue Jackets scoring chance numbers: defense

Blue Jackets season awards

Devils posts

Could the Devils look to trade Michael Ryder?

Round 2 playoff predictions

Jagr, Devils agree to one-year extension

Comparing Travis Zajac to 13-14 Selke candidates

What will Cory Schneider's next contract look like?

Devils sign Graham Black to three-year ELC

Scoring chance numbers for Devils forwards

Scoring chance numbers for Devils defense

New Jersey Devils 13-14 season awards

On Pete DeBoer, scoring chances, and possession

On Pete DeBoer and how low event hockey helps the Devils

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