When he’s not, ugh, scoring game-winning overtime goals, Artemi Panarin of the Columbus Blue Jackets is a highly sought-after commodity on the impending free-agent market. Panarin’s two-year, $6 million contract ends after this season.
The Russian-born forward is a popular prospect not just among NHL teams seeking to add skill and offense; several teams from his native land are interested as well. However, perhaps no team has demonstrated its interest quite as bluntly, or humorously, as the KHL’s Avangard Omsk.
On its Instagram account, Avangard shared what appears to be a computer-generated image of a self-deprecating billboard seeking to entice the highly skilled forward to come back to Russia.
Tagging Panarin, the post’s initial comment reads simply, “think about it.” The billboard itself makes quite an offer:
Artemi Panarin! Leave Ohio and come to Balashikha. We can offer you:
– A Megalopolis (20 minutes by minibus-taxi)
– A fight for the Gagarin Cup
– A lifetime supply of G-Drive100 Brand gasoline at all GazpromNeft gas stations
Panarin responded in kind.
“AHAHAHAHAHA,” the post reads. “I thought I’d have to [pay to] fill up the minibus-taxi. Accounting for the price of gas, it seems like a good investment. Thanks very much, I’ll think about it!”
Apparently, in-kind incentives are not limited to Siberia. Sports Illustrated reports that a Columbus distillery has offered Panarin free vodka for life if he stays in Ohio.
Over the summer, Avangard’s home arena in the Siberian city of Omsk was discovered to have serious structural deficiencies. The team opted to relocate for the 2018-2019 season to the town of Balashikha, located near Moscow.
Avangard Omsk currently sits atop the Chernyshev Division of the KHL, with a record of 31-19-0.
