Blue Jackets' GM Kekalainen says team will match any offer sheet signed by Johansen

One of the most tantalizing free agents on the market this summer will be Columbus' Ryan Johansen, who emerged as a star for the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. The catch is he's a restricted free agent, meaning any team outside of Ohio that wants to secure his services would have to do so by way of an offer sheet.

Faced with that outside threat, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen maintains a laissez-faire attitude, confident that ownership will cough up the funds necessary to retain Johansen's services.

"If he signs an offer sheet, he signs an offer sheet," Kekalainen told the Columbus Dispatch. "Our ownership is strong, and as I said before, we would match any offer he could possibly sign. If somebody wants to waste their time and effort on that, that's fine for them. We'd just match it and keep the player."

One thing is for sure: Johansen is going to get paid a boatload of money this summer.