Artemi Panarin’s future with the Columbus Blue Jackets may be over sooner rather than later. Which are the top 3 teams who would make a trade for him?
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin is by far the best player in the trade market right now. At 27 years old, he is in the prime of his career and has proven that he is a scorer in the NHL. Even though Panarin will be a free agent after this season, he’s still someone every contender should consider ading.
According to Frank Seravalli from TSN, the consensus is that Panarin is more likely to be traded than not. Blue Jacket fans are not happy about it.
A smattering of boos when Artemi Panarin is announced in the starting lineup and when he touches the puck shortly after #CBJ win face-off.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) January 30, 2019
This season is the last of his contract, where he makes $6 million per season, and he will be hitting the free agent market this summer. This is a pretty expensive contract and the team that trades for him will either have a lot of cap space or have to shed some to make room.
Columbus could always keep him and use him as a rental themselves, but if they want to get pieces to retool for next season, here are three teams that could use Panarin for their own Cup run.
3. New York Islanders
Projected cap space: $9.9 million
The New York Islanders currently sit atop the Metropolitan Division with 63 points. This team has overachieved and will make a drop-off, but they are making it to the playoffs – barring a massive collapse. Artemi Panarin is the player the Islanders need to become a legitimate contender.
The Islanders are middle-of-the-league when it comes to goals per game and power play (16.7%) and Panarin can come in and fix all that. This team has two solid offensive lines, centered by Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal and adding Panarin to the mix will make this team unreal.
Lou Lamoriello is known for rewarding his players for a hard-fought season and getting a player like Panarin into that locker room will show everybody that this team is ready for contention.