Each NHL team’s biggest burning question in 2018

Columbus Blue Jackets: How will they brave the Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky rumor mill?

Few would trouble the notion that the Columbus Blue Jackets are talented enough to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. Heck, they’re more than capable of winning a few rounds and even entering into the ranks of serious competition for Lord Stanley’s trophy.

Nonetheless, an aura of uncertainty continues to hover over Jarmo Kekalainen & Co. as the organization approaches what might turn out to be a watershed moment. How will the franchise brave the increasingly prevalent rumor mill surrounding two of its most cherished pieces in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky?

The talking point, it seems, is not going away anytime soon. Panarin — widely regarded as the best player on the team — was acquired in a June 23, 2017 trade that sent Brandon Saad back to the Chicago Blackhawks. The inherent risk informing a move of this variety was clear from the beginning — no one knew if, in fact, Panarin had any real intention of being the central pilot of the Blue Jackets’ reconceptualization. And although the franchise remained sanguine about its ability to guide the winger toward signing a long-term contract, the summer of 2018 proved otherwise, as the hockey world reflected upon the club’s apparent unwillingness to offer the 27-year-old payment in the range of $9-10 million per season.

To the dismay of many a Columbus faithful, the Bobrovsky factor is also looking like more of a lose-lose situation. Playing out the last year of his current deal, Bobrovsky is said to be asking for compensation in a manner that is comparable to a Carey Price-esque contract, as the two-time Vezina winner expects to be rewarded for his performances between the pipes like one of the sport’s most valuable assets.

For now, both Panarin and Bobrovsky are Blue Jackets. But it would be silly to dismiss the idea that the tentative label underlining each respective player is crafting a storm of worries from within the organization. And while fans of the franchise would veer the edges of shuddering over some of the suggestions that pundits have floated, the NHL’s talk circuit is soon to be riddled with rumors of the speculative sort as the season progresses.

Will Kekalainen & Co. opt to sign Panarin and Bobrovsky for more than they’d hope to? Is a trade on the not-so-distant horizon? Or will each piece walk once the 2018-19 season concludes?