When it comes to training camp holdouts, Brandon Dubinsky is no neophyte, based on reports from Blue Jackets Xtra.
The Columbus Blue Jackets forward is all too familiar with the circumstances currently facing his teammate Ryan Johansen, down to the fact that they even share the same agent, Kurt Overhardt.
Way back in 2009, then a member (sort of - restricted free agent status and all) of the New York Rangers, Dubinsky went through a similar situation when he held out of camp for eight days, a time he now refers to as, "one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with in my career."
Dubinsky, like Johansen, was a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract.
"Mine was a different situation, but I'm not proud of it," said Dubinsky. "I'm not going to comment on whether I agree or disagree with what he is doing. All I'll say is, he's an individual that has got to look out for his interests and his family's interests. He's got to make his own decisions."
Dubinsky though, like most in the Blue Jackets organization, would no doubt like to see a quick resolution to the impasse facing Johansen and the team. He has offered counsel to Johansen during this period while doing his best to stay neutral.
"Being in the same situation, being a teammate and being a friend, it's hard not to talk to a guy about that," Dubinsky said. "The bottom line is, we need to find some way to get it done."
Dubinsky claimed that missing the opportunity to work his way through the grueling training-camp process with his then teammates was difficult and something he sorely regrets.
The Rangers though were tough negotiating partners, not allowing him access to his own equipment while the two sides struggled to come to a resolution.
"(Rangers general manager) Glen Sather actually held my equipment hostage from me," Dubinsky said. "I'm not sure I should tell you guys that. But I was using rental skates. I was just skating laps, just burning my legs out every day to try to keep my legs in shape."
That revelation about the Rangers negotiation tactics surely won't play well in the New York media, or in their future efforts to resign players - like Marc Staal - and may irk some in the clubs front office.
The Blue Jackets meanwhile opened camp yesterday with "physicals and fitness testing." They open the season, without their number one center Johansen, with split-squad exhibition games at Carolina and at home against St. Louis.
