His first choice was not a long term deal, I have yet hear any solid information of a contract offer longer than 4 years. 4 years is not a long term offer it is a contract offer designed to take him to UFA. The UFA/RFA years are a basic negotiation tactic in these types of negotiations because that is the only real bargaining that can be done, short of the player sitting out. The Jackets put themselves in a smart position by leaving open as much cap room as they did because they don't have to fear an offer sheet and thus can stand strong on term or money, and use the other against Johansen. Standard carrot and stick negotiation.
Additionally, my calling him a "mercenary" is a complete mischaracterization of my post. I said it could indicate a mercenary mindset. A statement that is entirely accurate given that the only information I have seen throughout this negotiation is the Johansen camp pushing a contract term which will take him to UFA as soon as possible, thereby ensuring he gets paid, which is the very definition of mercenary. (According to portzline and a few other sources there is currently a 2 year and 4 year contact on the table) Regardless of the accuracy of my statement mercenary doesn't mean bad it just means that Johansen's objective is to make as much $ in his career as possible. There are players that take discounts (Crosby, Bergeron) and there are others that don't. I was simply stating that Johansen could fall into that latter category given what we have heard during this negotiation.
Finally, quit baiting posters by twisting their posts and questioning their hockey knowledge. No one here is an NHL executive. I'm a contract lawyer who's never played more than a few pickup games of hockey and never done serious scouting. That lack of experience doesn't make my or anyone else's opinion invalid just because it doesn't match with yours.
