Steve Gorten: Blue Jackets GM Kekalainen wouldn’t comment on how his meeting with Artemi Panarin went. He said offseason meetings with players “happens quite often.”
Panarin’s agent Dan Milstein in an email: “a good conversation. No contract progress at this time.”
Igor Eronko: The meeting between Kekalainen and Panarin’s meeting last 45 minutes and have been told that Panarin is still not ready to sign a long-term deal.
George Richards of the Dispatch: Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was set to meet with forward Artemi Panarin and his agent Dan Milstein today in France.
Panarin is traveling with Sergei Bobrovsky in Nice, France. It’s not known if Kelalainen will also be meeting with Bobrovsky.
Both Panarin and Bobrovsky are set to be UFAs after next season.
It is believed that the Blue Jackets first long-term offer to Panarin was for $9 milllion. He could be looking for upwards of $11 million.
“I meet with him every day during the season so this is nothing out of the ordinary,” Kekalainen said on June 30.
“We’re both in Europe and have a situation that has come up. I want to talk to him, make sure we’re on the same page when he gets here for training camp.”
