Columbus landed Panarin on June 23, 2017, hours before the start of the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center in Chicago.
Panarin, 26, was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks along with forward Tyler Motte and Chicago's sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft, which Kekalainen used to select Swedish forward Jonathan Davidsson. The Blue Jackets sent forward Brandon Saad back to the Blackhawks along with goalie Anton Forsberg and their fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft this weekend in Dallas.
Panarin, who became an instant success in his first two NHL seasons with the Blackhawks, continued to develop into a star with the Blue Jackets. He had a team-high 27 goals and set career-highs in assists (55) and points (82) in 81 games, setting a franchise record for points in a single season by surpassing Rick Nash's 79 points in 2008-09.
Panarin spent the entire season playing left wing on the first line and developed good chemistry with center Pierre-Luc Dubois, a 19-year old rookie who took big developmental steps as the season progressed. He also had two goals and seven points in the Jackets' six-game loss to the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including an overtime game-winner to end Game 1 at Capital One Center.
After the series-ending defeat in Game 6, Panarin was asked about his first season in Columbus.
"I'm very happy that I'm here," he said through a translator. "Very good team. Nice people, watching hockey. The organization is amazing."
According to CapFriendly.com, there is one year left on Panarin's contract, which was a two-year extension he signed in 2016-17 with Chicago. It includes a $6 million charge against the NHL Salary Cap. If he doesn't reach agreement on a new contract with Columbus prior to July 1, 2019, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Panarin was also asked about his contract situation after Game 6 against the Capitals, and whether he hoped to negotiate an extension this summer.
"I like everything," he said. "I am not trying to think about it, because it's playoff time. During the summer time, I'll have some time to think about it."
Teams can officially begin negotiating contract extensions with players who have a year left on their current deals July 1, which is the start of the NHL's free-agency period. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who became good friends with Panarin this season, also has a year left on his contract.
He, too, was asked about their contract situations following Game 6 at Nationwide Arena.
"It's tough to [talk] about those things right now," Bobrovsky said. "We just had the tough loss [in the game] and the tough loss in the series. He is a great player and I think for the organization it's great to keep him here. So, we'll see what's going to happen. Same thing [with me]. We'll see what's going to happen. Long summer ahead of us. Let's see what gonna happen."
Panarin broke into the NHL with the Blackhawks at age 24 as a free agent from the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. Playing primarily on the same line as Patrick Kane, he won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2015-16 with 77 points on 30 goals and 47 assists and followed it up with 74 points on 31 goals and 43 assists in his second NHL season.
