The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the Blue Jackets told winger Nikolai Zherdev that a contract agreement must be reached within the next week. Zherdev’s agent said:
“Our deadline is Oct. 5, but we’ve been told (by the Blue Jackets) that we need to get a deal done within the next week. To me, that’s a deadline. In fairness to the team, they want to know where things stand so they can prepare. I can understand that…
“If we don’t have a deal by next week, he’s playing in Russia.”
Part of the problem is Zherdev’s visa; if the CBJ doesn’t sign him soon, he won’t be able to report to the team in time for the season to start because of all the immigration paperwork involved in bringing him back here.
Zherdev. Scoring. While flying horizontally.
Sadly, it seems that MacLean didn’t learn a thing from the Ray Whitney fiasco. Ray Stein of the Dispatch sums up our frustration:
“Are Blue Jackets fans going to have to continually face mediocre seasons because of MacLean’s judgment? I, for one, have about had enough.”
Here’s hoping one side blinks this week.
Image credit & copyright: Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHL
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