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It's been well documented that talks between the Blue Jackets and Ryan Johansen haven't been going very smoothly, and as such it's unlikely he'll be signed by the time training camp opens up.

A couple weeks ago it was reported the two sides agreed to a two-year term, but that there was a gap of about $3 million per season.

While a large gap still remains, things seem to be heading in the right direction in terms of dollars, according to CBC's Elliotte Friedman.

Transcription via NicholsOnHockey: "I would guess, and this is sort of an education guess, but I can’t say it’s 100 percent accurate, like most of my work – but I would guess that Columbus is willing to go in the low 4, maybe 4 range for Johansen. And I think his ask has been around 6, maybe a little bit higher, though I think it’s come down to around 6. So I think there’s a significant gap there."

Friedman is right. That's still a significant gap, but again, things seem to slowly be moving along. A couple weeks ago Columbus was rumoured to be offering $3.5-4M per while Johansen wanted $6.5-7 per. That's $3 million gap looks to be closed to approximately $2 million, if Friedman is correct (I would bet that he is).

Ultimately I think Kekalainen will budge a little more money-wise to get Johansen signed to the term he wants, which is what I've said all along.

This negotiation has been much more difficult than either side would care for, but the gap seems to be slowly closing, and there's reason to be optimistic an extension will be reached before the season opener.

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