Columbus Blue Jackets could use sign and trade with Artemi Panarin

The NHL has never seen a sign-and-trade in the salary cap era. But the Columbus Blue Jackets could change that with Artemi Panarin.

Sign-and-trades are commonplace in the NBA. However, this trend has yet to take hold in the NHL. To be fair, the extra year teams are allowed to offer their own players only came into effect in 2013. But it’s a bit surprising one hasn’t happened yet in the salary cap era. The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a perfect position to make history by making the NHL’s first sign-and-trade since 2005, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

Should they do a sign-and-trade, it might not be the first in NHL history. The move which sent Marian Hossa from the Ottawa Senators to the Atlanta Thrashers a sign-and-trade could qualify as one. Hossa signed a three-year deal worth $18 million with the Senators. Later that day, he was traded to the Thrashers, along with defenseman Greg de Vries, for Dany Heatley. However, the precise details of the trade, namely which team signed him to the three-year deal, are disputed.

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Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin will be unrestricted free agents starting on July 1. The Blue Jackets decided to keep them both despite trade rumors surround both players. Unfortunately, they fell short of their goal of winning the Stanley Cup. But the Blue Jackets would probably like to get something for both of them.

Bobrovsky’s market likely won’t be strong enough to get much of a return, but they’ll most likely trade his rights. However, Panarin is the perfect guinea pig for the sign-and-trade for several reasons.

First of all, there will be significant demand for his services. Panarin has been linked to the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers. Even more teams are expected to try to woo the 27-year-old Russian star after he put up 98 points in 89 combined games between the regular season and postseason.

Secondly, multiple teams will likely want to sign him to an eight-year deal. Panarin’s age (he doesn’t turn 28 until October) makes him a perfect candidate for the maximum contract length. Also, an eight-year deal would probably bring down his annual cap hit a fair bit. The Blue Jackets are the only team allowed to sign him to an eight-year deal, which gives them a ton of leverage.

A loophole in the NHL-NHLPA collective bargaining agreement doesn’t allow teams to offer an eight-year deal to a player if they weren’t on their roster at the most recent trade deadline. It was discovered by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic immediately after the Sharks traded for Erik Karlsson. Here’s what Rule 50.8 says.

"An SPC with a term of greater than seven (7) years, provided, however, that a club may sign a player to an SPC with a term of up to eight (8) years if that player was on such club’s reserve list as of and since the most recent trade deadline."

If you remember the Mark Stone extension with the Vegas Golden Knights, this is why they had to wait until after the trade deadline to officially sign him to the eight-year extension.

Thirdly, Panarin would most likely want an eight-year deal. Everything he has done so far has been done to get him to the open market as quickly as possible. There are likely other factors involved, but it seems logical an eight-year deal would be a significant reason why Panarin wants to hit the open market.

Here’s how the sign-and-trade process would go. First, Panarin and the Blue Jackets would have to agree to help each other out. Each side has the motivation to help the other and neither side can get what they ultimately want without the other’s help.

Next, Panarin would negotiate the terms of an eight-year deal. The other team would agree in principle to the terms (teams can discuss the terms of a deal with players starting the week before free agency). June 23 is the earliest Panarin can discuss a contract with another team and he loses the option for an eighth year on July 1, when he becomes a UFA. So it would have to happen pretty fast.

After this, Panarin would go to the Blue Jackets and the two sides would agree to a deal fitting the terms the second team agreed to. He would then be traded immediately to the second team. This is the only way Panarin can get an eight-year deal other than signing a one-year deal and waiting until 2020 to sign a seven-year (or eight-year) extension. That option is unnecessarily risky.

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If Panarin really wants an eight-year deal and wants to go the easier route, it’s safe to say the Blue Jackets and Panarin have not spoken to each other about signing a contract for the last time. It would be a historic moment in the NHL if they pull it off.

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