It’s difficult to discuss just the 2018-19 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets without acknowledging the elephant in the room. Or, more accurately, dual elephants in the room in the form of the contract status of the best two players on the team. Both Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky are free agents on July 1, 2019. Neither are interested in signing with Columbus “at this time”, though Panarin’s agent going public this summer with a “we don’t want to negotiate so you might as well trade us before it’s too late” vibe makes it very clear that 2018-19 could be all of nothing for a team finally building towards something.
2018-19 Metropolitan Division preview: Columbus Blue Jackets
