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As I just took a look at the Blue Jackets upcoming free agents, I decided to also take a look at Blue Jackets that will be in the final year of their contracts this year.

Players that are in the final year of their contracts are... (09-10 salary in parenthesis, listed in millions of dollars)

• Rick Nash (7.000)
• Fredrik Modin (3.500)
• Antoine Vermette (3.000)
• Raffi Torres (2.750)
• Rusty Klesla (2.250)
• Derek MacKenzie (.550)
• Derick Brassard* (.765)
• Kris Russell* (.525)
• Jared Boll* (.550)
• Derek Dorsett* (.510)

*--Restricted free agents

And so it begins. This July 1 we'll see the big names begin to pop up in talks of new contracts and their future as a Blue Jacket. It surely won't be a slow start to free agency, with Rick Nash being first up on the plate on July 1. Don't expect a deal to happen right away, but the sooner the better. 

Currently, the only players inked to contracts that last through the 2011-12 season are Kristian Huselius, RJ Umberger, Jason Chimera, Mike Commodore (2012-13), and Fedor Tyutin. It will not only be imperative to re-sign all of our key contributers, but it will be important to sign them to fair deals and do a good job at managing long-term contracts to give us the best opportunity to have real success over the next 5-6 years and beyond.

To look at the Blue Jackets unrestricted free agents for this year, click here. For my write-up of Blue Jackets restricted free agents, click here.