Artemi Panarin‘s agent said Friday they’ll meet during the All-Star break to discuss the player’s future with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“As far as the contract, he’s genuinely happy right now in Columbus, things are going well for the team and for him,” Dan Milstein told TSN Radio 1050 Toronto. “He’s having a good time, he obviously likes the organization, great coaching. We have decided to meet up during the All-Star break to sit down and talk about different possibilities and what the future may hold.
“Everybody will have to wait just a little bit longer, but we’ll get together at the end of January and we’ll have a serious conversation.”
Columbus will have its mandatory five-day break from Jan. 20-24, followed by the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game Jan. 25-26. Panarin’s future could involve being traded prior to the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline (Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET).
The 27-year-old forward is in the final season of a two-year contract he signed on Dec. 28, 2016, with the Chicago Blackhawks, who traded him to the Blue Jackets on June 23, 2017. Panarin has been eligible to sign a contract extension with the Blue Jackets since July 1 but said he would not have contract discussions during the season after the two sides failed to reach an agreement prior to training camp in September.
He is one of two pending unrestricted free agents on the Blue Jackets, along with starting goaltender and fellow Russian Sergei Bobrovsky. During the offseason, each expressed interest in playing out his current contract.
Panarin leads the Blue Jackets with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) this season in 36 games and averages 19:55 of ice time per game. He has 274 points (100 goals, 174 assists) in 279 NHL games.
The Blue Jackets (22-13-3) are second in the Metropolitan Division and trying to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season. Columbus has advanced to the playoffs four times since entering the NHL in 2000 but has not advanced past the first round.
“We’re going to talk about, obviously, the team itself, the prospects of the future,” Milstein said. “He’s extremely competitive, he wants to help the team to win. We’re going to be looking at rosters, looking at teams, looking at the possibilities and the future role that he may have on the team and he’ll basically make a decision.
“I just want to be up front that he likes it in Columbus. As far as the team, they have a good young team, he’s got a very good center (Pierre-Luc Dubois), and management has been nothing but great to him.”
The Blue Jackets are off until Monday, when they host the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV).
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