"The Blue Jackets have signed defenseman James Wisniewski to a six-year, $33 million contract, The Dispatch has learned, landing a player they believe can help stoke their moribund power play.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the Blue Jackets and defenseman Jan Hejda have broken off, sending Hejda into free agency at noon today.

Wisniewski could have joined Hejda as a free agent, but after acquiring his negotiating rights in a trade Wednesday with Montreal, the Jackets spent the last 48 hours working on a deal with Wisniewki's agent, Bill Zito.

"This is an important signing," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "It's a player we targeted and took the step of acquiring his rights. We put our best foot forward, spent the last two days really working at it, and finally got a deal done."

The Jackets trade their fifth-round pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft to the Canadiens to complete the deal of Wisniewski's rights.

"Honestly, I had long, long talks with James about how close we were to free agency," Zito said. "In my mind, there's significantly more money available to him in the free agent market.

"You know what he said, and this isn't B.S. He said, 'I like it there.' He wanted to be in Columbus. He was impressed by what they showed him. It's a fit.""