The Blue Jackets have opened up preliminary contract negotiations with pending free agent centers Sam Gagner and Alexander Wennberg, reports Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch. Gagner is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st while Wennberg will become a restricted free agent with his entry level contract now complete.
Gagner was a late addition to Columbus last offseason and there’s a strong case to be made that he was the biggest bargain in free agency. Despite being only able to garner a contract of $650K, the 27 year old set a career high in points with 50 (18-32-50) in 81 games played, also a career best. Gagner noted that he’s certainly open to returning to the team:
“It’s a team that’s on the rise and as the year went on I felt like more and more a part of things and a big part of things. Yeah, I’d like to come back, but we’ll see where things go.”
Wennberg also set career bests across the board with 13 goals and 46 assists in 80 games; his 59 points were just three behind winger Cam Atkinson for the team lead while his assist total led the team. Reed notes that the 22 year old recently hired a new agent in Pat Brisson while Wennberg himself emphasized that there’s no rush to get a new deal done.
The Blue Jackets already have $70MM committed in contracts for next season per CapFriendly though that amount will come down by $5.25MM when David Clarkson returns to long-term injury reserve. Accordingly, they don’t have a ton of wiggle room to work with, especially since the team has a few other free agents to either re-sign or replace. Trade deadline acquisitions Lauri Korpikoski and Kyle Quincey are also set to become unrestricted free agents while right winger Josh Anderson as well as goaltenders Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo will become restricted free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.