The Chicago Blackhawks will have to get creative to re-sign Artemi Panarin as his reported asking price may put the club in a tricky financial situation.
[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]Panarin is seeking a six-year deal worth more than $6 million annually according to the Chicago Tribunes Chris Kuc.
“A source said Panarin is seeking a six-year deal worth more than $6 million per season, a figure that could be problematic for a Hawks team that already has eight players with caps hits of more than $4 million per season, including Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each at $10.5 million.”
Panarin turned out to be a terrific fit with the Blackhawks after signing a two-year entry-level contract with the club in 2015. The 24-year-old carried his impressive KHL scoring clip stateside, scoring 30 goals, 47 assists, and 77 points in 80 games in Chicago. On the ice, Panarin was a pure joy to watch, as his blazing speed combined with his creativity helped him emerge as one of the NHL’s best talents. Paired with Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane, Panarin was a natural fit.
The Blackhawks would like to sign Panarin long-term. General manager Stan Bowman admitted he’s a “big part of our team” and told Cruc “[Panarin’s agent] Tom [Lynn] and I will work to get something done.” Chicago will do everything in its power to make things work, but like Brandon Saad, a cap-crunch might force the Blackhawks hand in negotiations.
Chicago, in recent history, has made it a priority to re-sign core, home-grown stars to expensive, long-term contracts. Patrick Kane ($10.5 million per season), Jonathan Toews ($10.5 million per season) Duncan Keith ($5.385 million per season) and Brent Seabrook ($6.85 million) are under contract until 2022-23. That’s without factoring long-term deals to Marian Hossa ($5.275 million per season), Artem Anisimov ($4.55 million per season) and Corey Crawford ($6 million per season until 2019-20). Chicago has committed a ton of dollars going forward to its core – as much as $46 million to eight players alone next season. Signing Panarin to the lucrative long-term deal he seeks won’t be easy.
The Blackhawks will have to compromise, somehow, if Panarin is to remain on the roster. The restricted free agency positioned himself well and shouldn’t take a team-friendly deal in the midst of his prime to help secure Chicago cap relief. The only alternative that exists is moving out some of the bigger deals. The best-case scenario for the Blackhawks would be finding a taker for Seabrook’s albatross of a contract. That’s unlikely unless they eat considerable money or give up a handful of assets. More realistically, dealing Anisimov, who proved to be a great fit in Chicago scoring 20 goals and his five-year, $22.75 million contract, makes the most sense. Anisimov, the last remaining piece from 2015’s Brandon Saad deal, one of Chicago’s most notable cap-clearing moves, shouldn’t be hard to move. He’s a solid second-line center with some scoring punch. Would the Blackhawks prefer to keep him? Absolutely. But, with a gun pointed at their head, they’d choose to keep Panarin without a doubt.
Adversely, Chicago could deal with its cap issues by trading Panarin and hoping the assets they’d get in return could yield important future assets. But, for a team in win-now mode, re-signing Panarin is a no-brainer, if possible. It will be fascinating to see how the club deals with the tough cap situation.
