How could one possibly overlook Artemi Panarin?
Listen, I'm not saying it's happening, but there's a bizarre lack of buzz surrounding the Bread Man's impact on the Blue Jackets.
Maybe it's because he plays in Columbus, which could be true. But there's been no shortage of praise for Sergei Bobrovsky, Zach Werenski and Seth Jones so far from the national media. Now, it's Pierre-Luc Dubois who's starting to garner attention – especially after a strong performance under the bright lights of Air Canada Centre on Monday night.
But Panarin...crickets. Weird, right?
He's got 11 goals after scoring the overtime winner in Toronto. Josh Anderson leads the team with 14, but Panarin's contribution extends far beyond just his goal scoring. John Tortorella has remarked on several occasions that Panarin might be his hardest-working player both with and without the puck – the latter coming as a surprise as Tortorella didn't know much about Panarin before he arrived from Chicago.
Whether or not the media is giving him his fair shake can be debated until the end of time, but opposing teams are certainly aware when No. 9 hops over the boards.
This thought struck me when looking at All-Star roster projections and seeing Panarin's name appear on exactly zero (0) of them. Without Panarin and the PB&J line, the Blue Jackets would be up a creek with no paddles and a leaky boat. Their best chance to score goals comes when those guys are on the ice, and they can make things happen in an instant (see: the Dubois tying goal on Monday, and then, the Panarin OT goal at the end of a loooooooong shift).
The things Panarin can do are just...unrivaled on this team.
No disrespect to Jones and Sergei Bobrovsky – who appear to be odds-on favorites to make the Metropolitan Division team – but man, I'd love to see Panarin get a shot. He's a blast to watch, the things he can do with the puck on his stick and how hard he works to get it back when he doesn't.
If the Blue Jackets get back to the playoffs, much of the credit can go to Panarin and how his line has continued to drive offense and create scoring chances. At a time when both offense and chances have dwindled in the wake of injuries, Tortorella has been able to rest easy when Panarin and his line mates hop over the boards. There's something to be said for that. He's a world-class player.
YOU SHOULD BE READING
- Here's a look ahead at the week for the Blue Jackets, who want to close out strong before the bye.
- GIFs on GIFs on GIFs...seriously, you can't get enough of that comeback win. Watch it again.
- Lineup flexibility is going to be huge for the Blue Jackets until they get players back from injury. Read more on how Tortorella plans to mix and match his lineup, from Dan Dukart.
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