The NHL Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 25.
"Every team come deadline, not so much with the coaches but the players, (has) apprehension," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "It's part of the business. We met this morning about the situation and we've been very honest in that locker room as situations come by."
Columbus (28-17-3) is third in the Metropolitan Division and returned to practice Sunday following its mandatory five-day break and the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in San Jose. The Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, MSG-B, NHL.TV).
"We just go about our business," Tortorella said. "As I've said all along, this has been around us all year long. We get ready to play Buffalo tonight. I know he's going to be ready to play.
Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky can also become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"We're going to get some answers and then we're going to have to make decisions," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told the Blue Jackets website Jan. 21. "They're obviously two very talented players, two guys that have been a big part of our success, so that makes it a little bit more intriguing from the outside and people are curious to see how all of this is going to play out.
"But we will do what we need to do, do our best to convince them that they'd like to be part of our future for a long time as a Blue Jacket in Columbus, and if that doesn't happen, then we're going to have to make decisions. ... and if we have to make hard decisions, we'll make them."
"I feel great about our core, and it's only going to get better," Kekalainen said. "I've said it many times, we had 108 points in the regular season before Artemi Panarin arrived. That's not to slight Artemi at all. We love him, he's a great player and he makes our team better, and if for some reason he doesn't want to stay here we'll move along and we'll be a strong team in the future as well. We hope he stays. We'll do our best to convince him and we'll see what happens."
Tweet from @HockeyAgent1: Statement about Artemi Panarin���s future ���We have informed the team that we are willing to discuss Artemi���s future after the season. Our priority now is to focus on the rest of the season, trying to win a Stanley Cup for the CBJ & their fans���. No additional comments will be made..
