September 13th, the day that training camp opens for the Columbus Blue Jackets, is coming quickly. That’s also the date set by star forward Artemi Panarin to have all “business matters” pertaining to his next contract dealt with, leaving the Blue Jackets with just over a month to convince him to sign a long-term extension. Panarin isn’t even willing to negotiate at the moment, which puts GM Jarmo Kekalainen in a very tough position and could eventually force him to trade his best offensive weapon. The 26-year old forward is heading into the final year of his current contract, and could choose his landing spot as an unrestricted free agent next summer. As Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) reports, Panarin would seriously consider the Chicago Blackhawks as that landing spot, returning to the place that gave him his first NHL opportunity.
Chicago traded Panarin a year ago in a blockbuster deal that brought Brandon Saad back, but could end up with both if they were to convince the former to sign again in the summer of 2019. The Blackhawks were the team who first convinced Panarin to come to North America, signing him out of the KHL after he recorded 62 points for SKA St. Petersburg in 2014-15. That SKA team also included Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Dadonov, who have both found their ways back to the NHL in Los Angeles and Florida respectively. Both might be considered contenders for Panarin’s services should he hit the open market, but it’s Chicago’s interest that makes the most sense.
Panarin found instant chemistry with Patrick Kane upon arriving in North America, resulting in Kane’s best two offensive seasons of his career. In 2015-16 Kane scored 106 points and won the Hart and Art Ross trophies, a level that the Blackhawks are dying to get him back to as they try to contend with their current core. Last season without Panarin on his wing, Kane reverted to 27 goals and 76 points, numbers very similar to what he’d put up before the two were put together. While those are still outstanding totals for the talented winger, bringing the pair back in 2019 would obviously be an attractive proposition.
In 2017-18 though, Panarin proved he could drive a line all by himself. Scoring a career-high 82 points, the 26-year old winger found a nice match with young center Pierre-Luc Dubois who was barely even expected to make the Blue Jackets roster. Instead, Dubois finished second among all Blue Jackets forwards with 48 points and eighth in Calder Trophy voting as one of the league’s best rookies. While Dubois looks like he’ll be a top option for the Blue Jackets for a long time, taking Panarin off his wing for this season could lead to disastrous results for the 20-year old center. That, and the fact that the team relied so heavily on Panarin’s offensive creativity, make it quite a difficult decision for Kekalainen. With the Blue Jackets expecting to compete for the playoffs once again, does he remove his best forward in order to get some future assets, or does he roll the dice and hope he can convince him to stay after the year is over?
For now, Blackhawks fans should just be happy that there isn’t any bad blood between Chicago and Panarin. An incredibly well-liked player for the franchise would at least consider a return if he ends up on the open market, though there would still be work to do in order to fit in what could be a huge cap hit. Panarin will likely be demanding somewhere around an $8-10MM salary, if not more depending on how this season goes. As one of the NHL’s most dangerous offensive players, he’ll be fighting off suitors during the free agent interview period.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Such a good player, and he has every right to choose what he signs for(length & dollars) and where he wants to play.
Time to wake up panarin and kekalainen
Should have already extended him and sergai by now
Kind of hard to extend someone who isn’t willing to negotiate.
I don’t it’s that he doesn’t wanna sign, he just doesn’t wanna lock into an 8 year deal. He’s young, Jackets don’t seem capable of getting over the hump anytime soon. Columbus isn’t interested in a 2 or 3 year deal and if so, that’s on them if/when he walks next summer.
Clearly you don’t understand the issue at hand: (1) Artemi is not interested in signing a short-term deal, he is looking to sign a long-term deal, it’s not Jarmo or the Jackets, it’s Artemi. It has been documented by Dan Milstein (Artemi’s agent), that if Artemi was interested in signing a short-term deal, it would have been done by now. (2) Jackets are most certainly on the verge of getting over the hump, the team is about one or two pieces away and Artemi is the next face of the franchise, if he wants to be. So it’s completely inaccurate to say that Columbus doesn’t want to sign Artemi to a short-term deal.
Although the kid is an offensive dynamo, and had great chemistry with Kaner, the Hawks need defense. If one or two of these kids step up for the Hawks then I would love breadman back, but cannot remain cap strapped.
would likely cost them de brincat, a 1st, and a salary player (anisemov)?
Just wait until the he becomes a free agent after this upcoming season. Maybe he signs at the lower cap hit ($8m) because of potential endorsements?!
There’s no chance the Hawks will go after him via trade. And they’re on the record saying that unlike previous years, they’re not going to ship away young pieces like DeBrincat, Schmaltz and Jokiharju. They will wait to see what happens with Panarin, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring him back next season to pair up with Kane again.
Would Love to see Him Come to The Islanders and play alongside Barzal
We’re pretty much over him here in columbus. If he won’t even talk that’s a sign that’s he getting traded. We proved last year we have guys that can step up despite injuries. I’m just hoping we get something of value in return for a guy acting like one of these NBA divas.