According to the latest NHL trade rumors, with a year left on his deal, Columbus Blue Jackets wing Artemi Panarin isn’t interested in signing an extension before he hits free agency.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are starting what might be the most important season in franchise history. Though their future is promising with a lot of prospects, their best chance to win is right now. They’ll have two of their top players hitting free agency after this year – forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. And, according to the latest NHL trade rumors, he’s not interested in signing an extension.
During his latest Insider Trading segment on TSN, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic had this to say about Panarin.
"Well if that’s not bad enough because it shocked the organization in the summer, my understanding is that he doesn’t want to sign with anyone, period, during this season."
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This shouldn’t come as a surprise from the Blue Jackets perspective. Panarin announced his intention to not sign an extension with them ahead of his free agency. However, this still hurts the Blue Jackets because it greatly affects how much they’ll be able to get for him should they trade him.
Panarin will now be seen around the league purely as a rental, as opposed to a potential long-term option. Teams aren’t going to be as willing to give up as much for him because of this.
The Blue Jackets will still likely get a nice haul for Panarin should they decide to trade him. Just look at what the New York Rangers got for Rick Nash at the 2017-18 trade deadline. However, their hopes of getting a return similar to the one the Montreal Canadiens got from the Vegas Golden Knights for Max Pacioretty are now gone.
Panarin signed a two-year extension with the Chicago Blackhawks back in December of 2016 specifically so he could hit free agency as early as possible. Later, he got traded to the Blue Jackets that summer. Last season, Panarin set a career high with 82 points. Though he missed out on his third consecutive season with at least 30 goals, he still scored 27 goals.
The Blue Jackets must make a very tough decision now. Should they hang on to Panarin in hopes of making a Stanley Cup run? Or do the Blue Jackets risk losing one of the best wings in the NHL for nothing? What’s worse is they must make this same decision with Bobrovsky as well.
For updated NHL trade rumors, check out our Rumors page.