June 23rd has been an exciting date for Columbus fans.
June 23rd has been an exciting date for Columbus fans.
On June 23rd, 2017. The Columbus Blue Jackets traded for Artemi Panarin. A trade that would send F Brandon Saad back to Chicago, along with goalie Anton Forsberg, and a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft. Also going to Columbus was F Tyler Motte and a 2017 sixth-round pick.
Artemi Panarin was a dynamic left wing, who, in the previous two seasons with Chicago put up 151 points in 162 games. So, when GM Jarmo Kekalainen pulled this trade off, no one in Columbus could believe it.
Panarin played two seasons in Columbus. How did he do? In 160 games, he scored 55 goals and had 169 points. In 2017-18 he broke Rick Nash’s single season points mark with 82 points, the previous record being 79. He followed that up in 2018-19 by breaking his own record, with 87 points. He also set the single season assist record, with 59. In two playoff seasons with the CBJ. He played in 16 games. He had 7 goals and 18 points.
Panarin left Columbus in free agency after the 2018-19 season, signing a massive seven-year contract with the New York Rangers, worth an average $11.64 million a year. According to rumors, Columbus offered him 12 million a season, but Panarin had his heart set on playing in New York.
Also, on June 23rd, this time in 2014, Scott Hartnell was traded to the Blue Jackets for F RJ Umberger and a fourth-round pick. Fan Favorite Scott Hartnell went on to play three seasons in Columbus. He scored 64 goals and had 146 points in 234 games. He returned to Nashville in 2017, signing a one-year deal with the Predators.