Josh Anderson’s contract impasse has been one of the biggest stories of the Columbus Blue Jackets offseason, and it still continues. With less than a week to opening day, there isn’t much time for the two sides to reach an agreement.
As the Columbus Blue Jackets season nears, Bob McKenzie of TSN has broken some news regarding the financial side of the Josh Anderson contract dilemma.
No movement on RFA front with CBJ/Josh Anderson. Club wants 3-yr term ($1.85M AAV); player would do one-year QO at $735K. Sides entrenched.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 2, 2017
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The numbers that the team are requesting seem fairly similar to those that have been circulating around social media for the past couple of weeks, however the last part of the tweet is likely the most interesting. McKenzie states that Anderson would be willing to take the one-year qualifying offer to remain with the team. The potential benefit to this for Anderson would be that he would once again be a restricted free agent next season, and according to CapFriendly he would qualify for salary arbitration.
In ideal circumstances, the qualifying offer would be accepted and Anderson would join the team for at least one more season. But McKenzie’s followup tweets show why that isn’t possible.
Once QO offer expires, it's up to player and club to negotiate a deal. No floor or ceiling outside of league minimum or league maximum.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 2, 2017
Essentially, the qualifying offer has been expired for over two months according to McKenzie. The most similar option to that would be signing a one-year deal at the salary laid out by the qualifying offer, however it seems like that ship has sailed at this point.
The Columbus Blue Jackets want a decent bridge contract with a low cap hit, meanwhile Josh Anderson’s camp wants either a one-year deal or a bridge contract with a higher salary than the organization is ready to offer. This is beginning to look more like a game of chess than a hockey negotiation as both sides are essentially in a stalemate.