Don Waddell strolled through Nationwide Arena last Monday and bumped into Kent Johnson, one of the Blue Jackets’ unsigned restricted free agents. Waddell, the Jackets’ new president of hockey operations/general manager, asked the young forward if he needed anything this summer, and the fifth overall pick of the 2021 NHL draft shrugged.

“I don’t need anything,” Johnson said.

“Well, what about a contract?” Waddell countered.

“Oh, yeah,” Johnson said. “I’m letting somebody else handle that.”

More Blue Jackets news: Columbus Blue Jackets notebook: Don Waddell updates RFA talks, Laine trade request

More specifically, negotiations were handled by Johnson’s agent, Pat Brisson of CAA, and the talks led to a surprising conclusion Saturday with a three-year extension worth $5.4 million. That’s $1.8 million per year against the NHL salary cap, which could turn into a bargain for the Blue Jackets through 2026-27 should Johnson, 21, put it all together as an NHL top-six forward.

"He’s five years from being unrestricted, so with a three-year deal now, he has two more years after this before he becomes unrestricted," Waddell said. "So, if these three years go the way we both want them to go, then we can sign him to a long-term deal. This is a good deal for both sides. We’ll evaluate it at the end and say, ‘Yeah, he didn’t develop the way we wanted, and we paid him too much,’ or he’s going to outperform the contract."

Johnson is highly motivated to make it the latter.

Coming off a frustrating season that ended in late February with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, he's played only 130 NHL games over the past three seasons and is now expected to compete for a key lineup role that could spark a breakout season.

“I could’ve signed a one-year deal, and had a year where you just prove it and try to get every dollar you can next year," Johnson said, "For me, I’m going to be really happy in my life if the next three years go like I think they will, and I’m going to be really underpaid. It will be a great thing, and I think a great thing for the team. I just feel good about that. That’s obviously the goal, to be really underpaid on this deal ... and with a one-year deal, there’s always risk with that too.”

Johnson’s contract is the latest development in a hectic offseason for the Blue Jackets.

Since late May, they’ve hired Waddell to replace Jarmo Kekalainen and John Davidson, fired coach Pascal Vincent, traded Alexandre Texier, bought out defenseman Adam Boqvist, allowed defenseman Jake Bean to leave, signed free agents Sean Monahan and Jack Johnson, hired new coach Dean Evason and signed Johnson.

Among Waddell’s remaining tasks are exploring offers to complete a trade request by disgruntled forward Patrik Laine ― who was officially released from the NHL/NHL Players Association’s assistance program Friday ― and re-signing two more RFA forwards. A multi-year extension is being discussed with center Cole Sillinger, who was selected 12^th overall in Johnson’s draft year, while Kirill Marchenko has an arbitration hearing slated for Wednesday in Toronto.

Waddell can negotiate with Marchenko’s agent, Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, up to the start of the hearing and the talented Russian is guaranteed a new contract by the end of the week. The Blue Jackets have never gone to an arbitration hearing in their 24-year history.

"We’ll know (Wednesday), one way or another," Waddell said. "We’re trying to negotiate a deal, and the agent's been very up front with us. We’ve thought we were close multiple times, but the player filed for arbitration, and he has that right. So, once they filed, we said, ‘OK, we know we’re going to get a contract.'"

Sillinger’s extension is foggier, but he’ll eventually get a new deal too.

Johnson's extension, on its own, is a big piece to Waddell’s unfinished offseason puzzle. Speaking with the Dispatch at Evason’s press conference Tuesday, the Jackets' GM expected Johnson to sign a one-year extension and come back to the negotiating table. Getting two additional years at an average salary less than $2 million for a potential young star wasn't anticipated.

Now, it’s Johnson's job to turn potential into production before his next contract in 2027, when he'll have arbitration rights and, potentially, a lot better numbers to boost his asking price. It’s something he showed flashes of doing as the Blue Jackets’ highest-scoring rookie in 2022-23 with 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points, before taking a step back with 6-10-16 in 42 games last season.

Johnson had a brief stint in the AHL early last season, before returning to Columbus in early December.

Injuring his shoulder on a meaningless faceoff at the end of a road loss to the New York Rangers put a frustrating cap on his NHL "sophomore" campaign, but Johnson is training hard this summer to add speed in his skating to go with more size and strength.

"I'm so excited," he said. "I love it in Columbus, so to be locked in for three years and continue growing, I feel really grateful and blessed. I think (last year) is only going to make me better. That’s how I’m trying to take it. After everything I went through this year, this is really exciting."

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets, Kent Johnson agree to three-year extension