Two of the Blue Jackets' most important players are in a similar situation.
Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky will be unrestricted free agents without new contracts in place by July 1, 2019. They're from the same country, they're both incredibly hard workers, but they are in far different situations.
The Blue Jackets have gone through hell and back with Bobrovsky's agent, Paul Theofanus, twice now in contract negotiations. There were moments during the first negotiation, which came after a breakout 2012-13 season, that you wondered if the Blue Jackets would be forced to trade Bobrovsky. They were nowhere close on a deal, neither side wanted to budge an inch, and it got testy.
Eventually, cooler heads prevailed. Theofanus has secured six years worth of contracts for his client with the Blue Jackets, totaling in the neighborhood of $40 million. The next battle between these two parties is sure to be pyrotechnic; is Bobrovsky really going to accept anything less than being paid as one of the top three goalies in the NHL, especially as a two-time Vezina Trophy winner before age 30? You're getting dangerously close to $10 million annually.
But with Panarin, it just feels different. In a good way.
You read Aaron Portzline's fantastic piece on Panarin, his humble upbringing, and his outlook on life as a star NHLer. He's settled nicely in Columbus, become the team's best player and is one of the league's most dynamic offensive talents. Panarin is going to get paid – handsomely so – but everything you read and hear about him points toward winning and fit as more important than compensation.
He's one of the top scorers in the NHL over the last three years – over 70 points in each, including a career-best 82 points in 82 games this past season. It won't be a walk in the park to get him signed, and it will be expensive, but this is the type of player you make an an investment in. Panarin is the type of player you build around.
Think back through the nearly 20-year history of the Blue Jackets and try to remember more than a small handful of players who could even sniff what Panarin can do. Rick Nash was an elite player, an All-Star, etc., but the one-on-one talent and game-breaking ability pales in comparison to Panarin.
I think it's time we face it: Panarin is the new cornerstone player for the Blue Jackets.
So, what would it cost?
Start with 8.
Then probably go a little higher.
NHL players with an annual salary in excess of $9 million is not a large group. Only seven active players have a salary cap hit of $9 million or more, and 25 made a salary of $9 million or more in 2017-18. Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook was one of them, so the salary structures on a year-to-year basis probably aren't the best reference in this case.
Panarin getting a new deal worth $9 million AAV would put him in the earnings company of guys like Evgeni Malkin, Jamie Benn and Alex Ovechkin. It would loft him past the AAV of Sidney Crosby (yes, his is $8.7 million), Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux and Phil Kessel.
Some of that may give you pause, and some of it may surprise you. But Panarin is worth it, and the Blue Jackets are going to give it their best shot to get a deal done this summer and lock him in as the face of the franchise.
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