3 NHL players who should be very happy about Evander Kane’s contract

SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 2: Evander Kane #9 of the San Jose Sharks skates in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round against the Vegas Golden Knights during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 2, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Evander Kane /

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Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

1. Artemi Panarin

Which NHL left wing will be the biggest breadwinner of the 2019 free agency class? The guy who will be bringing in the most dough is none other than Columbus Blue Jackets wing Artemi Panarin. When he was with the Chicago Blackhawks, he signed a relatively short-term, but high-priced extension. This was because Panarin wanted to cash in at a young age.

Next summer, he will be 27 years old, one year old than Kane is right now. But that won’t stop Panarin from cashing in. He set a career high with 82 points in 81 games with the Blue Jackets in 2017-18. Panarin narrowly missed the 30 goal plateau (which he reached in his previous two seasons), but he came close with 27 goals.

His price was already going to be sky high. But considering Kane’s now making $7 million annually, Panarin will likely command at least $8 million annually unless he takes a team discount. Considering he took a short-term deal specifically to cash in while he was still young, it’s hard to see him doing that.

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The Blue Jackets are going to have some tough decisions to make. Sergei Bobrovsky will also be a free agent in 2019. Given his resume, with two Vezina Trophy wins, it’s hard to see him getting anything less than $8 million a year and he could push $10 million on a short-term deal (he’ll be 31 in September of 2019).

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