by Aaron Portzline, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH , The Columbus Dispatch

Howson would say only that "We have significant ground to cover" if a deal is to get done.

The two sides are apart on both dollars and the length of the contract, Howson said. Malhotra made $1.5 million last season, the final year of a three-year contract.

Malhotra has not returned several calls from The Dispatch this offseason.

If Malhotra leaves, the Blue Jackets will need to add two centers, either through trade or in free agency, which begins at noon Wednesday. They plan on Derick Brassard and Antoine Vermette anchoring the top two lines next season, so they would be looking for checking-line centers who are adept at penalty-killing.

Some free-agents who might fill that bill: John Madden, Todd Marchant, Sami Pahlsson, Chad LaRose, Vernon Fiddler and Radek Bonk.

The Blue Jackets have told two of their own pending free-agent centers, Michael Peca and Jason Williams, to test the market, but that a return to Columbus is not out of the question.

Malhotra is one of the longest-tenured Blue Jackets players, having joined the club off waivers from Dallas early in the 2003-04 season. Last season, he had 11 goals and 24 assists in 77 games.

His negotiations had all the earmarks of a difficult deal right from the start.

Malhotra spent most of the season playing on the No. 1 line between Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius. But he's regarded by the club -- and throughout the NHL -- as a third-line center, at best.

Those two ends of the spectrum might have made it difficult for the Blue Jackets and Malhotra's agent to find a comparable player to serve as a model for a contract.

aportzline@dispatch.com

Box Story: IF YOU GO \

* What: Blue Jackets develop-ment camp

* When: 2:45 to 4:15 p.m. today; 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Thursday

* Where: Dispatch Ice Haus

* Admission: Free

* What it is: "It's not an evaluation tool for us as much as it's an educational tool for the players," general manager Scott Howson said. "It's for them to get to know us as much as for us to get to know them. We want them to get familiar with the city of Columbus and get a small taste of what it's like and what it'll take to one day be a Blue Jacket ."

* 2009 draft picks attending: Defensemen John Moore, David Savard and Thomas Larkin; center Kevin Lynch; right winger Kyle Neuber

* Other top prospects attending: Forwards Matt Calvert and Stefan Legein; defensemen Steven Delisle, Cody Coloubef, Brent Regner and Ted Ruth; goaltenders Kevin Lalande and Allen York

* Others: Forwards Darren Archibald*, Cam Atkinson, Josh Boyd*, Matt Caria*, Sean Collins, Kelly Geoffrey*, Jake Hansen, Kevin Harvey*, Tayler Jordan*, Tomas Kubalik, Brock McBride*, Tim Miller*, Nick Sucharski and Trent Vogelhuber; defensemen Tim Filangieri*, Spencer McAvoy*, Drew Olson and Kevin Roeder*

* - free agents \

-- Aaron Portzline

aportzline@dispatch.com

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