Blackhawks plan to extend Artemi Panarin during offseason

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has a glaring addition to his to-do list come summer.

After signing a contract extension of his own with the club Tuesday, Bowman said he plans to lock up the services of forward Artemi Panarin during the offseason.

"Patrick Kane would be pretty upset if we didn't," he told reporters.

Panarin, 24, remains under contract through the end of next season, and is providing excellent value on his current two-year, $1.625-million deal.

He has indeed developed wicked chemistry with Kane, and is the odds-on favorite to be named the NHL's rookie of the year after recording 17 goals and 29 assists in 52 games, good for 11th in the league in points.

Bowman also has several restricted free agents to deal with this summer, most notably Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger, Phillip Danault, and Jiri Sekac.