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.