Morning Bag Skate: Jersey advertisements coming in the future?

While most teams are settling in for the long haul that is the 82-game NHL season, the Columbus Blue Jackets still don't have their star center under contract. With talks between Ryan Johansen and the team becoming increasingly contentious in public, it'll be interesting to see how the situation is resolved before the start of the season. Anyways, onto the rest of the news!

**The United Center ice got its fresh coat of paint on Wednesday (Second City Hockey)

**While I did my best to defend "NHL 15," the game's review over at Polygon reflects its many issues (Polygon)

**We could see sponsored advertising on NHL jerseys, similar to teams in the English Premier League, in the future. Obviously nobody really wants this but the extra revenue is substantial -- roughly $4 million annually per team -- and that means it's practically inevitable. The NHL may want to see how another league implements the jersey ads first, though. (Puck Daddy)

**The Sharks signed defenseman Justin Braun to a five-year, $19 million contract on Wednesday. The deal, which expires in 2020, includes an annual cap hit of $3.8 million. Pretty good value for San Jose. (Sharks)

**Looks like NHL 2K is coming back!!!!!!!! ... unfortunately it's only on mobile devices. Those hoping for a legitimate competitor to EA on the big platforms will have to keep waiting. (Polygon)

**Minnesota is expected to be without goaltender Josh Harding for months. The team still has Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper, an unsigned RFA, but this probably isn't how the Wild hoped to enter the season. (TSN)

**The Senators may have offered a seven-year, $49 million contract to Bobby Ryan, but it remains to be seen whether he'll stick with the team long-term. It's possible Ryan is hoping to hit unrestricted free agency now that he's made it this far. (Pro Hockey Talk)

**The NHL may move forward with player-tracking chips at some point, but the Rangers are already ahead of the curve. They'll have special data-tracking chips in their jerseys this season, and I'm certainly curious to see how they use that info. (SNY Rangers)

**"That’s the problem with Vancouver. The media makes up a lot of stories that aren’t true. To be honest, I was really sick of certain media guys throwing people under the bus." ... sounds like Ryan Kesler is happy to be in Anaheim now, huh? (OC Register)

**Another layer in the Johansen story, as Columbus revealed the terms of the offers it made: two years and $6 million; six years and $32 million; eight years and $46 million. (Pro Hockey Talk)

**The Blue Jackets did win the 2014 Traverse City rookie tournament, though! (Pro Hockey Talk)

**Jonas Hiller calls his final months in Anaheim "frustrating," which they presumably were for most folks involved. Hiller is in Calgary now while the Ducks move forward with their young goaltender tandem. (Calgary Herald)

**Marc Staal and the Rangers are making progress on a contract extension. The defenseman is set to hit unrestricted free agency when his current deal expires next summer. (New York Post)

**There's going to be an "NHL Wives" television series including Nicole Brown, wife of Kings captain Dustin Brown. So, uh, if you're into trashy reality TV, good news? (Puck Daddy)

**Sami Salo wants to play next season, but the 40-year-old is still recovering from wrist issues (Pro Hockey Talk)