Former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen wasn't afraid to make trades. Say what you want about his tenure, but being afraid wasn't something you had to worry about with him. 

June 23rd, for some reason, has been a popular day for the CBJ to make trades. Some of them were great, and one, not so much. 

Let's take a look at the big trades that have happened on June 23rd throughout the history of the franchise. 

2011: The Columbus Blue Jackets traded for Jeff Carter, sending Jakub Voráček and Columbus' 1st (Sean Couturier) and 3rd (Nick Cousins) round picks in the 2011 NHL Draft, June 23, 2011, to the Philadelphia Flyers. 

This trade would go down as arguably the worst in franchise history. Not only did the CBJ lose Jakub Voráček, but they were forced to trade Carter on February 23, 2012, to the LA Kings in exchange for Jack Johnson. 

Carter, up until he retired, was mercilessly booed every time he came back to Nationwide Arena. 

2014: Scott Hartnell was traded to the Blue Jackets for 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. 

Hartnell would go on to sign a free agent deal with the Nashville Predators on July 1, 2017 after Columbus bought him out on June 29, 2017.

2017:  The Columbus Blue Jackets traded for Artemi Panarin. A trade that would send Brandon Saad back to Chicago, along with goalie Anton Forsberg and a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft. Also going to Columbus were 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 of $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.

He stated in a Russian interview after he left that he was advised by his agent and his wife to take the money in Columbus. Panarin refused, and the rest is history. 

GM Don Waddell is shopping for help on the trade market, so could there be another June 23rd blockbuster? Stay Tuned. 

Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft is on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, where the CBJ will own pick #14.   

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