Blue Jackets teammates get personal with pending UFAs Panarin and Bobrovsky

It’s not exactly a secret that the Columbus Blue Jackets are in a tricky spot just three weeks from the NHL’s February 25th trade deadline. The team is currently in playoff position but its two most important players, leading scorer Artemi Panarin and starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, are both pending unrestricted free agents intent on testing the open market. Will GM Jarmo Kekkalainen hold them or fold them at the deadline? Is it worth the risk? Both Panarin and Bobrovsky stand to leave the team for nothing this offseason, but Kekkalainen could receive a HEFTY return for the two star Russians should he elect to move them ahead of the deadline.

What to do… what to do…

Behind all the talk of Panarin’s and Bobrovsky’s future though there’s a forgotten story. The story of their teammates. How are longtime Jackets players like Nick Foligno and Cam Atkinson dealing with the drama playing out in front of them? Both players admit that it’s an awkward line to walk, trying to convince your teammate to stay, while also not stepping on their personal business too much.

“I can say, ‘What the fuck, Bread?’ and ‘What the fuck, Bob?’ but what’s that going to do?” said Atkinson to CBJ insider Aaron Portzline.

“Trust me, we’ve had those conversations before, but ultimately it’s their decision. I’m not going to hold a gun to their heads, even though I should. I might have to.”

“Everyone in their position has that right. You only get so many chances in your career to have that opportunity (unrestricted free agency), so why not take advantage of the situation? Everyone is different. I love it here (in Columbus). I started playing my career here and I want to finish it here, but everyone’s different. That’s all I can say.”

Foligno, the team’s captain, has approached both players multiple times this season.

“You have those conversations,” Foligno said. “It’s nothing I’m going to talk about out loud. Just knowing them and the way they … I can’t control how they feel, personally, and it’s something I’m not going to worry about because I can’t change that.

“I told them both, as long as you’re here, you’re going to play as hard as you can for us and do everything you can to help us win. I don’t think anyone can argue that they’ve done that.”

Whatever ultimately happens in the future between the team and its two star players, you can just feel things rising to a crescendo. It’s unlikely that things end well for the Blue Jackets and you can’t help but feel for this team.