The Blue Jackets won both of their games this week – but they also scored a huge win off the ice, locking up a key piece.
Let's dive right in – here's what we learned this week.
Contract Negotiations are Crazy
For a while, there was nothing to report on the Cam Atkinson contract front. A few days before he signed his extension, it appeared as if nothing was imminent, despite the Jackets reportedly having six and seven-year offers on the table.
Things came together really quickly, and Thursday night’s news was a bombshell – he’d signed a seven-year extension.
There’s a lot to glean from this sequence. For one, negotiations like this are unpredictable. Does this mean that Jack Johnson is next? Perhaps, perhaps not. The Jackets have a ton of defensive depth and some big names set to hit free agency after next season. But as the Atkinson deal showed, these things are unpredictable.
A New Core Emerges
Last summer, the Blue Jackets locked up a key piece of their core by signing Seth Jones to a six-year, $32.4 million extension – an absolute bargain for a potential Norris Trophy candidate and a top-pairing defenseman. Alexander Wennberg signed a six-year deal of his own this summer, and then Atkinson’s extension came this week.
The Jackets have put a lot of effort into getting their core signed long-term as they try to build a Cup contender. Next offseason, they’ll begin negotiations to extend the next wave – Artemi Panarin, Zach Werenski and Sergei Bobrovsky – and if they can keep all three, this squad will be competitive for a long time.
We’ve seen Jarmo Kekalainen give out a few long-term deals before (although he prefers bridges for players going to restricted free agency), as he tried back in 2014 to build a core around Nathan Horton, Brandon Dubinsky and, later, Nick Foligno.
Times change, but the new core certainly looks better. One true superstar in Jones (and three more in Werenski, Panarin and Bobrovksy, assuming deals get done next offseason), a potential star in Wennberg and an established, do-it-all top line winger in Atkinson.
Russian Highlight Machines
Speaking of superstars, Panarin and Bobrovsky certainly lived up to those monikers this week.
Last week’s edition of What We Learned focused on Bobrovsky’s incredible save against the Detroit Red Wings to keep the Jackets alive in overtime. He was outstanding again this week, stopping 64 of 65 shots over two games, highlighted by a shutout against the Rangers on Friday.
One save against Montreal stole the show, though.
Yup. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/NGeUhKk8X2
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 15, 2017
Not to be outdone, the Jackets’ other Russian star had a ridiculous highlight of his own. Panarin ripped a slap shot – with so much force that he couldn’t stay on his skates – by the ear of Henrik Lundqvist to finally end his power play drought and put the Jackets up 2-0.
Zipped it right past Lundqvist's ear hole. No way he was stopping this one. What a laser.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/la01URmJnB
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 18, 2017
The goals aren’t exactly coming in bunches for the Jackets, but they bounced back from a four-game losing streak to win three in a row (without Wennberg, Calvert and Sedlak). That’s a pretty good sign of things to come.
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