Report: Pending UFA Panarin would “welcome a return” to the Blackhawks via free agency

According to a report from Chicago Blackhawks insider Scott Powers, former Blackhawks forward and pending unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin is interested in a potential return to his former team, should the team meet his contractual demands.

In his latest column for The Athletic, Powers examined potential offseason options for the Blackhawks this summer and dropped a juicy little tidbit about Panarin and his future with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Check it out:

Check out this quote, taken directly from Powers’ article:

The next question obviously is what can the Blackhawks do with that cap space. There are a number of intriguing players who could be unrestricted free agents after the season. Among the most notable is Artemi Panarin, who would listen to an offer from the Blackhawks, a source said Monday.

Interesting. Powers certainly is tapped into the Blackhawks and has broken several news stories regarding the team during his career. This isn’t just some wacky rumor taken from an online message board, so there’s likely some truth behind it.

Even if he’s interested though, whether or not the Blackhawks can afford Panarin is an entirely different matter altogether. The 27 year old Russian sniper is expected to command $10+ million on the open market this offseason and well… let’s just say the Blackhawks aren’t exactly in the best salary cap situation.

Technically the team could afford Panarin and GM Stan Bowman would be smart to kick tires and see if he can get his former player on a discount, but until pen gets put to paper, we’re not sold on the possibility of seeing the Breadman back in a Blackhawks jersey.