Jackets Ink Umberger To 5 Year Extension

      Ohio State University product RJ Umberger has decided to further his hockey career in the state of Ohio after signing a 5 year $23 million extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Umberger has one year remaining on his current deal worth $4.5 million, so his extension will not take effect until the 2012-13 season. According to CapGeek.com, his new deal will pay him $5 million in 2012-13 then pay him $4.5 million per season until the end of the 2016-17 season, good for a $4.6 million cap hit. The final three years of the deal contain a modified no-trade clause.

"We are pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with R.J.," said Blue Jackets executive vice-president of hockey operations and general manager Scott Howson. "R.J.'s commitment to the team and the city has been impactful since we acquired him three years ago. We are very excited about him continuing to play such a large role on our team."

      Scott Howson had an active offseason acquiring the likes of Jeff Carter, James Wisniewski, Vaclav Prospal, and Radek Martinek. He must have made the right moves because Umberger was slightly hesitant to sign an extension in may when he told the Columbus Dispatch the following.

"I'd like to see how the summer plays out. From the end-of-the-year meetings (with Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson and coach Scott Arniel), I know what they expect to do. They said they're going to be active. But you want to see something done to feel better about the situation."

      Umberger had this to say following his signing.

"I want to be part of the reason why this organization started winning, too," Umberger said. "It's like when (Rick) Nash signed his extension (in July 2009), the goal was to let people know that this is where he wants to be and where he wants to win. I feel that way about it, too."

      Upon first hearing of this deal I was stunned and though this was a gross overpayment, but then realized that most of his new deal will pay him exactly what he is scheduled to make this upcoming season and only half a million more than what he made last season. Maybe his name just doesn't have a good ring to it because he has averaged over 50 points a season the past three campaigns. Examples are Jason Spezza, Johan Franzen, Alex Semin, and Vincent Lecavalier, all of which were in the same points range with incredibly higher salaries.

      What needs to be considered here is the fact that Columbus does have some good draft picks in the pipeline, but yet not considered very deep. To keep a consistent player in Umberger at a fair price who plays a good two way game is very valuable to building a stable franchise that hasn't seen but only one postseason appearance. Umberger also carries a trait that is becoming increasingly important in todays game, durability. Throughout his 5 season NHL tenure, Umberger has only missed 19 games total while playing in every game for the Blue Jackets since his debut there three years ago. When a team is not especially deep, keeping players healthy is definitely a priority.

      Umberger has amassed 74 goals, 84 assists good for 158 points over 3 season with the Blue Jackets. He was the CCHA rookie of the year in 2000-01 and in the following year was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team while being a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.

-Dustin Lundberg