Blackhawks plan to extend Artemi Panarin during offseason
The Chicago Blackhawks plan on extending Artemi Panarin’s contract at some point during the 2016 offseason
The Chicago Blackhawks plan on having another busy offseason because they have to worry about restricted free agents Andrew Shaw, Jiri Sekac, and Marcus Kruger (among others). Stan Bowman has added another significant item to his offseason checklist: extend Artemi Panarin who will probably be coming off a Calder Trophy season.
Stan Bowman says the #Blackhawks plan to extend Artemi Panarin this summer. "Patrick Kane would be pretty upset if we didn't." #Blackhawks
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 26, 2016
It’s understandable that Patrick Kane would be upset if they didn’t re-sign Panarin. Panarin and Kane have formed a deadly duo this season. They have combined for 47 goals and 72 assists for a combined 119 points, which is more than any other duo in the NHL and yes that includes Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Most of that has come from Kane, but Panarin still has 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points.
It will be quite hard for the two sides to negotiate because there are very few comparable players to Panarin. Few players have gotten extensions immediately following a Calder Trophy season. Evgeny Kuznetsov got a two year deal averaging $3,000,000 a season after last season, but then again, Kuznetsov had NHL experience before the 2014-2015 season. Still, the $3,000,000 deal will likely act as the starting point for the extension.
Artemi Panarin is still under contract for next season. The Blackhawks would be wise to sign him now before he has another great season next season, which would only drive his price up. It’s worth noting that Panarin seems extremely happy with the Blackhawks and likely would take a discount to stay there and keep playing with Kane.