Each passing day makes it less and less likely that Artemi Panarin extends his stay in Columbus, and the New York Islanders are reportedly a suitor for last season’s 82-point winger.
The Bread Man and the Blue Jackets have attempted contract negotiations throughout the summer with no outcome. It was during a meeting in France where Panarin confirmed he would not discuss an extension effective September 13 — when training camp begins league-wide and lasting until the season’s end.
Training camp is exactly one month away, and with talks having stalled since then between the Jackets and Panarin it’s likely that Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen will do his best to field an apt return for the Jackets’ best player in franchise history.