Finally!

Well, he may have missed all of training camp but he is signed, sealed and ready to roll for the regular season. Sometimes people put too much stock into training camps. It's not like he was going to play in every pre-season game anyway. As long as he's been skating back home (and that's the rumor) and his conditioning is good, it shouldn't take him long to get back into game shape. Let's be honest, this is a 22-year-old kid, how out of shape can he be?

The deal will pay him 3M in each of the first two years and then 6M in the final year. He will still have one more year of restricted free agency when this deal ends and that is probably why the weird jump in salary in the deal in the final year. It will mean that the Blue Jackets qualifying offer at the end of the 2016 season will have to be at least 6M and if Johansen files for salary arbitration when this deal ends, he will qualify for a 1 year deal and then be able to jump right into free agency. So while it may appear like the Blue Jackets win this deal short term, don't think Johansen isn't looking long term in his plan. This is why this deal may end up being a winner for both sides. It's still a cap friendly deal for the Blue Jackets and for the first couple seasons his actual salary is decent. The last year of this deal is all about Johansen planning for his next deal, and beyond. If Johansen plays the way the Blue Jackets are expecting him to (and he's capable of), I won't be one bit surprised to see some sort of long term deal being discussed before arbitration even comes around. Here's hoping those negotiations go a heck of a lot smoother than these ones did. I am just glad all this foolishness is over.

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So there were a lot more cuts this week as teams trim down their rosters for the regular season. No major surprises except for one; the Oilers demotion of Martin Marincin.

Axeman's Grind

I am not going to lie, the move by the Oilers management to send Martin Marincin to the AHL as part of their final cuts really left me scratching my head. Marincin was probably the Oilers best defenceman most of last year (especially at the end) and looked like he was ready to take the bull by the horns this year with his play in the pre-season. The decision to keep Klefbom up and demote Marincin is nothing short of criminal. I realize the whole waivers thing with him and that he will be back sooner than later due to injuries and what not but I just can't see how the Oilers management, who should be trying to put their best lineup out there to start the season and get off to a strong start, honestly thinks this is a good move. The big issue right now, the Oilers are swimming in defencemen. That's right; the Oilers have too many defenceman who are NHL quality. Darnell Nurse will get his 9 games while they wait for Nikita Nikitin to return from injury and then he will most likely be sent back to Junior for one more season.

Ideally, I'd love to see the Oilers make a trade and ship out one of these good young defencemen in some sort of package for what they REALLY need; more depth down the middle. Petry is a definite possibility with him only signed for this year and UFA status looming. I loved what I saw from Bogdan Yakimov in the pre-season and believe me, this kid is the real deal. Big, strong and plays hard. What a great draft pick for them a couple years ago. Give him another year in the AHL to round his game out and then look out. The problem is, he's their man depth guy to get recalled if an injury occurs to one of the centers up in Edmonton.

Either way, this is once again another mess up by Oilers management. Marincin should have made this roster on opening night. Then again, this is the Oilers and I have come to expect nothing but disappointment from them on a regular basis. Until Katz clears out the "Old boys club" who is running this team, I am having a hard time visualizing success for this group.

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Well, thanks again for taking the time to read. Comments are always welcome. Enjoy the games tonight and the start of another glorious season.