The clock is ticking for the Blue Jackets and Ryan Johansen to work out a new deal. (USATSI)
The clock is ticking for the Blue Jackets and Ryan Johansen to work out a new deal. (USATSI)

After no progress was made in reported talks between Columbus Blue Jackets assistant general manager Bill Zito and Kurt Overhardt, agent for restricted free agent forward Ryan Johansen, over the weekend, the situation is as tense as it has ever been. With training camp set to open Thursday, the Blue Jackets would obviously like Johansen to be there, but Johansen won’t be without a new contract.

Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen went on the offensive Tuesday in an interview with Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. He questioned the motives of Johansen's agent and warned the 22-year-old forward about being late for training camp.

From the Dispatch:

"From their side, hopefully, this should be about Ryan Johansen and his future, his long-term future, and his long-term future with the Blue Jackets," Kekalainen said. "We like the guy a lot. He is a big part of our future.

"But this shouldn't be about a setting a new standard (for a player coming out of his entry-level contract), or an agent breaking records."

Kekalainen insisted this wasn't a case of the Blue Jackets being frugal with their best player.

"I've said it many, many times, that I think (Johansen) can be special," Kekalainen said. "His potential is great. But we’re not there yet, after one year, when we’re willing to invest the franchise-type of money into his future. Do it once or twice more. Make us pay. Go ahead and make us pay!”

Bridge deals can certainly burn teams when they have to pay exorbitantly on the next contract as the Montreal Canadiens just did with P.K. Subban, but it doesn't always turn out that way. Kekalainen, however, seems to be welcome to the idea that Johansen forces them to pay big later. That doesn't really help in this negotiation, however.

This is an increasingly delicate situation made more difficult by the somewhat unique case of Johansen’s first three seasons.

Johansen had a special season for the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. He scored 33 goals, as many as Carolina Hurricanes Jeff Skinner for most among players age 21 or younger. But the fact that he’s only a year removed from being sent back down to the AHL for a bit, the caution on the Blue Jackets’ is certainly understandable.

Is that the kind of track record that Johansen’s camp is trying to build a case on? Certainly not for reportedly asking $6.5 million per year, hence Kekalainen’s rather pointed comments about the negotiation and more directly at Overhardt.

However, Portzline reported another interesting wrinkle in the negotiations.

That doesn’t mean a long-term deal is likely, especially since if the Jackets are going to add years, the annual average would have to be substantially lower than the $6.5 million asking price for each of the next two years.

Johansen’s expensive ask could certainly have always been geared towards driving the negotiations back to a long-term deal. Given how this negotiation has gone, though, long-term discussions might alter the timeline on talks with precious little time left to avoid a holdout.

Kekalainen also has a point when it comes to warning Johansen about starting camp late, or missing it entirely. Johansen is coming off a breakout season. Why would a player want to potentially get off to a late start to the season given the opportunity to build off what he accomplished last year? That’s the question the Johansen camp has to ask itself when it’s deciding whether or not to go forward with holding out.

Things may only get more intense as the offseason’s conclusion rapidly approaches.