The Columbus Blue Jackets are a young team on the rise, but one of their young stars -- Ryan Johansen -- is in the midst of a contract dispute with the team. Despite the fact that the sides haven't agreed to a deal, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen believes Johansen should attend training camp.
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Kekalainen is hopeful that his star center won't miss training camp, which opens up on Thursday with team physicals, amid ongoing negotiations on a new deal.
"Our success is going to come from being a team, not a bunch of individuals or stars, or whatever," Kekalainen told the Columbus Dispatch at the prospect tournament in Traverse City, Mich. "We're not a star-studded team. To me it's huge that you go through training camp together and get ready."
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The publication reports that Johansen and the Blue Jackets are $3 million apart on each year of the two-year pact they've been negotiating heading into the 2014-15 campaign and Johansen wants $6.5 million per year.
The sides are negotiating a two-year bridge contract that will connect Johansen's entry level deal -- which expired to make him a restricted free agent this offseason -- and a lengthier deal down the line.
Kekalainen can't deny that Johansen, 22, has been solid, but he also believes he still has a lot to prove before earning the kind of money that he wants.
"His potential is great," Kekalainen said. "But we're not there yet, after one year, where we're willing to invest franchise-type money into his future. Do it once or twice more. Make us pay. Go ahead and make us pay. We have no problem paying the dollars when it's earned, but the key word there is 'earned.' While we believe in his future, we want to see him do it a little bit longer than just one year."
Kekalainen is hopeful that the two sides can reach a deal over the next two days before training camp breaks.
"We're going to exhaust every option to get a contract done before camp," he said. "After that, we'll focus just on the team, the guys who are here."
Johansen played in all 82 games for the first time last season, and notched a team-best 33 goals and 63 points while ranking third on the team with 30 assists.
The Blue Jackets went 43-32-7 (93 points) in 2013-14 and finished in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, earning a wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Columbus gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a run for their money in the opening round before eventually falling to them in six games.
The Blue Jackets kick off their 2014-15 season with a visit to the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 9.
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