It comes as little of a surprise to Columbus Blue Jackets fans that Artemi Panarin has said he will test free agency once the season comes to an end according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.
In the midst of an abundance of quotes from an interview with Panarin, Hedger dropped the following tweet which confirmed every Blue Jackets fan’s greatest worries.
Artemi Panarin on not signing with #CBJ
"It’s one life, one chance for free agency and I want to test free agency.”
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) February 8, 2019
The confirmation that he wants to test free agency makes things in someways much easier for Jarmo Kekalainen, but in other ways it makes things much more difficult.