The Blue Jackets are in the process of shaking up the hockey landscape making a huge trade, dealing Brandon Saad back to the Blackhawks for Artemi Panarin. Elliotte Friedman had the report first.

I think there are other pieces...but Panarin is going to CLB and Saad is going back to CHI

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 23, 2017

This was quickly confirmed by both Aaron Portzline and Bob McKenzie.

Also hearing what
@FriedgeHNIC reported ... #CBJ and #Blackhawks working in a Brandon Saad for Artemi Panarin

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 23, 2017

Confirming what @FriedgeHNIC initially reported, Artemi Panarin is going to CBJ for Brandon Saad and other pieces, incl a goalie.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 23, 2017

This is not a one for one trade. Tyler Motte and Anton Forsberg will also be included.

Motte and Forsberg and a pick swap also part of the Saad-Panarin trade

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 23, 2017

Here is the full trade:

TRADE:

To #Blackhawks:
F Brandon Saad
G Anton Forsberg
2018 5th RD pick

To #BlueJackets:
F Artemi Panarin
F Tyler Motte
2017 6th RD pick

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 23, 2017

This is a big trade, Saad was extremely good for the Jackets and really seemed to fit with what they were building. Panarin however is the better offensive player. In his two seasons in the NHL he has put up 77 points in 80 games and 74 in 82. He won the Calder Trophy in his first season, and scored 30 goals in back to back seasons. Panarin has played predominately with Patrick Kane which boosted his numbers. It will be interesting to see who he plays with in Columbus and if he can replicate those gaudy offensive totals.

Panarin is a year older than Saad and is only signed for the next two seasons. Saad is signed for the next four seasons, each player carries a cap hit of $6M. For what Panarin has done thus far $6M is an underpayment. If he continues to be a premier scorer with the Jackets this will be a great deal, and he will get significantly more when he reaches UFA status. The Jackets are taking on the risk here but the potential is sky high.

As far as advanced numbers go the two are close with maybe a slight edge to Panarin.

I think Panarin is better as shown below, but Chicago knows he will probably want a raise in two years and they can't afford to do it pic.twitter.com/z6kJpyKHtc

— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) June 23, 2017

Saad and Panarin were the lead forwards for their teams in 5v5 CF% Rel this season at +5.99% and +6.81% respectively. pic.twitter.com/TiDUuLl7GG

— Natural Stat Trick (@NatStatTrick) June 23, 2017

Much like Saad, Artemi Panarin helped make everyone he played with better than when they were not playing with him. This is good. pic.twitter.com/no70FYxnqg

— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) June 23, 2017

Saad was a fantastic even strength scorer this season. He was the best on the Jackets, but his overall offensive numbers were limited because he didn't get any power play time. Panarin will be a staple on the first PP unit, giving the Jackets another scoring option with Cam Atkinson.

An underrated part of this deal is the Tyler Motte acquisition. Forsberg is a good goalie prospect, but it's clear the present and future is with Joonas Korpisalo. In getting Motte the Jackets get a 22 year old centre who just finished his first season in professional hockey. He had seven points in 33 games for the Blackhawks and 16 in 43 in the AHL. He was a strong offensive player in the NCAA, suggesting more offense is coming. He could very well be the replacement for William Karlsson.

There is one other little wrinkle to this deal, mentioned by Portzline.

Wonder if acquisition of Panarin is, in any way, a sweetener for Ilya Kovalchuk, who's been discussed by #CBJ. The two were teammates in KHL

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 23, 2017

This is the rumour that refuses to die. With Clarkson off the books the Jackets have the cap space to add a Kovalchuk if they go that direction. Either way this is an exciting time to be Blue Jackets fan.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot

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