Columbus Blue Jackets: Getting William Karlsson Signed
William Karlsson will be a restricted free agent starting July 1st, but his importance with the Columbus Blue Jackets makes this signing a necessity.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and center William Karlsson have begun negotiations now that the season has officially come to and end. Karlsson did not want to negotiate a new deal during the season. Karlsson just finished the last season on his three-year entry-level contract making him a restricted free agent on July 1st.
The Swedish-born player was acquired by the Columbus Blue Jackets when they traded James Wisnewski to the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline. William Karlsson was not the biggest name when the Blue Jackets acquired him, but he has made a name for himself with Blue Jackets faithful with his tough mindset and consistent play.
The Swede has made a big presence on the ice even though he has not torn it up on the stat sheet. Karlsson tallied 20 points on the season scoring nine goals and 11 assists, but his complete worth is not shown on the stat sheet.
The 23-year-old is a tough penalty killer with a lot of speed. Karlsson is a young player who will improve on the offensive end but has played in 81 of the teams 82 games this season because of his defensive prowess. He is not afraid to play in the dirty areas on the ice, and he has shown that he has the speed to be a very good forechecker.
Karlsson is not the Blue Jackets biggest question mark this season with defenseman Seth Jones also being a restricted free agent, but he is a player that the Blue Jackets cannot risk losing. He may be a role player at this point in his career, but he has a lot of potential to be a solid two-way center.
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With that being said the Columbus Blue Jackets do not have much cap room, so they cannot overpay Karlsson because it is paramount that they do get a deal with their number one defenseman, Seth Jones. GM Jarmo Kekalainen doesn’t think that getting a deal done with Jones is going to pose a problem.
If the NHL players’ association votes to inact a 5 percent salary cap escalator clause, the NHL salary cap for 2016-17 will likely be around $74 million. If they don’t, the cap could remain stagnant, $71.4 million. –Columbus Dispatch
The Blue Jackets have some work to do to prepare for the future, and a bump in the salary cap could help.
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The Blue Jackets are a team that is better with Karlsson in the lineup, but the team knows that he is not the top priority this off-season, but still look for William Karlsson to be in a Blue Jackets sweater next season – if they can get a deal done with Jones, and leave room enough in the bank to keep Karlsson on the bench.