Columbus Blue Jackets Staring Down the Barrel: Panarin’s Old Team

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Artemi Panarin take on his old squad at Nationwide Arena tonight.

The Columbus Blue Jackets might be playing their final game without Seth Jones tonight. The Norris caliber defenseman is well on his path of recovery from his knee injury and could return next Tuesday.

Until then, the Jackets look to break the 10 point mark in their seventh game of the season. They will have to beat a good Chicago Blackhawks squad led by Patrick Kane.

Ahead of this big Saturday night matchup we sat down and talked to Juliana Nikac, Blackhawks expert over at BlackhawkUp.com. Be sure to follow Juliana on Twitter and read her work over at Blackhawk Up.

Lansing Murphy (LM): Obviously there is a bit of a Panarin situation here in Columbus. Do you think he would be looking at returning to Chicago at the end of the season as a free agent?

Columbus Blue Jackets

Juliana Nikac (JN): I would not count the Blackhawks out as a possible destination for Panarin if or when he hits free agency in July. In early August, Scott Powers of The Athletic reported Panarin would definitely consider making a return to Chicago.

He’s targeting larger cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, and Chicago definitely fits in that category. It’s also difficult to forget the chemistry he had with Patrick Kane for two seasons. The duo recorded 346 combined points during their time together, according to hockey-reference.com. It’s just a matter of Chicago having the cap space to sign him to a deal that he wants.

LM: If you were the CBJ GM how would you handle the Panarin situation?

JN: Jarmo Kekalainen has done a pretty good job handling the situation. There hasn’t been much outright frustration from the front office and they’ve been saying all the right things. If I were him, I would remain active on the phone in regards to a possible.

It also depends on how the Jackets perform for the first half of the season. If they can figure out a good return for him that’ll help the team immediately and in the future, get the deal done. It’s better to let him go that way than to let him walk.

LM: What is the deal with Brandon Saad?

JN: I don’t think anyone really knows what’s happening with Brandon Saad. His production last season was, without a doubt, the worst of his career. However, he had a considerable amount of bad luck, as did Jonathan Toews. He only shot 7.59%, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. In his prior seasons, his average shooting percentage was 11.62%. His Corsi numbers were ridiculously good, as well.

But Saad’s not Toews. He doesn’t have the same personal drive to always be the best. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic had a really good analysis of the situation, which I think tells a lot about the kind of person and player Saad is. He’s not someone who gets angry with himself when he has a bad game. That’s not exactly encouraging in any way if he hopes for him to return to the old Brandon Saad.

In my personal opinion, he looks deflated on the ice. There are some really good moments where he’s at his best – driving to the net and using his speed to create opportunities off the rush. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between. It’s really frustrating that fans can’t analyze him like we can with most players. As a professional, you’re supposed to have a certain level of tenacity and hunger for success. I hope he finds that drive or he needs to be on the trading block. That’s not a $6 million player.

LM: What part of this Columbus Blue Jackets team scares you the most?

JN: Artemi Panarin, obviously. He controls play whenever he’s on the ice. His ability to draw defenders to him and create so many high-danger scoring chances is ridiculous. There’s almost nothing he can’t do.

LM: How do you see tonights game playing out?

JN: I’m going to give the Blackhawks the advantage in this one, 4-3 in overtime since that’s the only they can win games right now. Artemi Panarin will have two goals and Jonathan Toews will extend his point streak to seven games.

Besides her terrible prediction, it was great to talk to Juliana and get her fantastic insight.