Florida Panthers: Joel Quenneville Can Help Lure in Artemi Panarin

The hiring of Joel Quenneville helps give the Florida Panthers a better shot at signing Artemi Panarin this summer.

When KHL star Artemi Panarin had enough of playing for St. Petersburg SKA, he decided it was time to come into the NHL.

With a winning team in the north ready to take charge, Panarin decided his best fit would be with the Chicago Blackhawks. In the long run, this proved to be a great decision by Panarin and the Hawks.

In his rookie season, he easily captured the Calder Trophy, an award given to the most proficient player in his first year of competition in the NHL, by racking up 30 goals.

After a second 30-goal season, it was clear that the Russian forward was having fun in the Windy City. His success, aside from his prominent talent, was driven by two men in the Blackhawks organization: Patrick Kane and Joel Quenneville.

For Kane, anyone who’s ever watched a hockey game has seen what a spectacular player Patrick Kane is.

Aside from his three Stanley Cups, Kane has magical hands, comparable to those of Pavel Datsyuk. The number of assists he ends with is remarkable as the proficient playmaker he is.

It’s like he can get the puck to anyone at any moment, even if he isn’t even looking! With a brilliant passer, Panarin was being fed pucks all day in Chicago.

For Coach Q, a player can never forget their first coach, let alone a three-time cup champ. Quenneville always put Panarin in a position where he could succeed, whether it was on the power play or just alongside Patty Kane.

With the nice relationship that these two men have built, a reunion may be a good idea for them both in Sunrise, Florida.

After two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Panarin seems to get better and better each year. His point totals have now exceeded into the 80s for the past two seasons, making him appeal to any team.

Now that his contract’s expiring this summer, it seems that a Panarin signing in the Sunshine State is becoming more likely.

If the Florida Panthers want to sign Panarin, they need to appeal to be the place to be, compared to the other interested NHL clubs.

Yes, the Bread Man has said that he would like to play for the New York Rangers, but what would be better than playing for your former coach that helped you reach superstar status that you’ve achieved in your career.

For starters, Coach Q could make Panarin desire to come to the Cats because of the playing conditions that he was used to in Chicago.

Back with the Hawks, Panarin always had that Kane kind of guy to feed passes to him on a shift-by-shift basis.

Well, who can be better than 92-point Jonathan Huberdeau to get the Bread Man the puck whenever he wants. If Artemi is searching for a setup man, Florida’s got exactly what he wants.

On the winning side of things, it’s true that everyone wants to be around a winner, whether it refers to fans or players.

Aside from money, NHL players want to play where they can experience the most winning and have the most success.

With a team like Florida being on the cusp of developing that kind of culture with an experienced, veteran bench boss, what else could Panarin be looking for?