Artem Alekseevich Anisimov (Russian: Артём Алексеевич Анисимов; born 24 May 1988) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player. He was a centre who previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, and Ottawa Senators and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League. The Rangers originally selected him in the second round, 54th overall, of the 2006 NHL entry draft. In international play, Anisimov represented Russia at the 2014 Olympic Games and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and several world championships and world junior championships. He won one gold, three silver, and two bronze medals in his international career.
Anisimov is a product of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey school in Russia. He made his semi-professional debut for the organization's junior farm club, Lokomotiv-2, during the 2004–05 season before joining the senior team in the 2005–06 season. In ten games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, he went scoreless. He returned to Lokomotiv for the 2006–07 season, appearing in 39 games, scoring two goals and eight assists for ten points. The team made the playoffs and in seven playoff games, he added two goals and five points.
Anisimov was drafted in the second round, 54th overall, in the 2006 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers. On 2 August 2007, Anisimov signed his first contract with the Rangers, He was to New York's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack to begin the 2007–08 season. In 74 games with Hartford, he recorded 16 goals and 43 points, helping the Wolf Pack finish second in their division and qualify for the playoffs. Hartford was eliminated in five games by the Portland Pirates in their first round best-of-seven series. Anisimov added one goal in the five games.
He was returned to Hartford for the 2008–09 season. On 23 January 2009, Anisimov was selected to participate in the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic in Worcester, Massachusetts, representing the PlanetUSA team. He scored one goal and assisted on two others, including the game-winner, in a 14–11 PlanetUSA victory over the Canadian All-Stars. On 1 February, Anisimov was called up to the Rangers for the first time in his career after scoring 21 goals and 29 assists for 50 points with the Wolf Pack. He made his NHL debut on 3 February against the Atlanta Thrashers at Madison Square Garden. He was returned to the AHL the following day. In 80 games with Hartford, he tallied 37 goals and 81 points, good for fifth in the AHL. The Wolf Pack made the playoffs again after finishing atop the AHL's Atlantic Division and faced the fourth-place Worcester Sharks in the opening round best-of-seven series. Worcester upset Hartford, winning in six games. Anisimov scored two goals in the six games. After Hartford was eliminated, Anisimov was recalled by the Rangers again on 27 April, and made his NHL playoff debut on 28 April in the Game 7 2–1 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Anisimov made the Rangers out of training camp for the 2009–10 season and recorded his first NHL point assisting on a goal by Aleš Kotalík in a 4–3 victory over the Washington Capitals on 8 October. He scored his first career NHL goal on 11 October, against goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Anaheim Ducks, in a 3–0 Rangers victory. On 28 November, Anisimov was deliberately hit in the head by Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Anisimov missed the rest of the game while Cooke received a two-game suspension. Anisimov appeared in all 82 games with New York, recording 12 goals and 28 points in his rookie season. He marked his first three-point game on 23 November, when he scored a goal and assisted on two others by Sean Avery and Matt Gilroy in a 7–4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mid-season he went pointless in 17 games, leading to calls for his demotion to the AHL.
In the offseason Anisimov underwent surgery on his right wrist after injuring it on international duty. He returned to the Rangers for the 2010–11 season and was one of four players to appear in all 82 games. Centreing a line of Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky, the three were the best trio on the team, with Anisimov setting new career highs in goals (18), assists (26) and points (44). The Rangers qualified for the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs and faced the Washington Capitals in the opening round best-of-seven series. The Capitals moved past the Rangers in five games, with Anisimov marking one goal.
On 8 July 2011, Anisimov, a restricted free agent, re-signed with the Rangers on a two-year, $3.75 million contract. Anisimov played in 79 games for the Rangers, tallying 16 goals and 36 points. He went on a 17-game pointless streak midseason, breaking the streak by scoring against the Philadelphia Flyers on 5 February 2012. He added two assists, setting up goals by Marián Gáborík and Michael Del Zotto to record his second career three-point game. The Rangers finished first in the Eastern Conference and made the 2012 playoffs. The Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference final, but were beat by the New Jersey Devils to finish their season. In 20 playoff games, Anisimov scored three goals and ten points.
Columbus Blue Jackets (2012–2015)
Just one season into his contract, Anisimov, along with forward Brandon Dubinsky, defenceman Tim Erixon, and a first-round draft pick in 2013, were traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for star forward Rick Nash, defenceman Steven Delisle and a 2013 conditional third-round pick. With the season delayed by the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Anisimov returned to his former Russian team, Lokomotiv (now of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)) during the labour action, alongside fellow NHLers Semyon Varlamov and Dmitry Kulikov. In 36 games with Yaroslavl, Anisimov recorded 12 goals and 29 points before returning to North America for the resumption of the 2012–13 season. He made his debut for Columbus on 19 January 2013, and scored his first goal for the team in a 3–2 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators. On 21 February, in a game against the Detroit Red Wings, Anisimov was struck high in a collision with Detroit defenceman Kyle Quincey. Anisimov was taken off the ice on a stretcher and taken to hospital as a precaution. On 28 March, he marked a three-point game, scoring one goal and assisting on two others by Matt Calvert and Cam Atkinson in a 6–4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. In April, he missed five games with a concussion. He spent most of the year on a line with Calvert and Atkinson. However, after Columbus acquired Marián Gáborík from the Rangers in April, Anisimov centred his line alongside Václav Prospal. He finished the season with 11 goals and 18 points in 35 games with Columbus.
On 26 June 2013, Anisimov signed a three-year contract extension with the Blue Jackets at an annual average value of $3.28 million. Anisimov played on the top line with Gáborík and Nick Foligno on his wings during the 2013–14 season, but were not a successful trio, with head coach Todd Richards struggling to find a spot for Gáborík. He finished the season with a new career-high in goals with 22, and 39 points in 81 games. Nevertheless, the Blue Jackets made the playoffs and faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round. The Blue Jackets were eliminated by the Penguins in six games, with Anisimov adding one goal and three points in the series.
Anisimov's 2014–15 season was spent mainly injured. On 28 October 2014, Anisimov suffered a concussion that caused him to miss seven games. On 1 December, it was announced that he had suffered a torn triceps muscle in a game against the Nashville Predators. He returned to the lineup on 29 January 2015 after missing 23 games. He finished the season with seven goals and 27 points in 52 games.
Chicago Blackhawks (2015–2019)
On 30 June 2015, Anisimov, along with Jeremy Morin, Marko Daňo and Corey Tropp, were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Brandon Saad, Alex Broadhurst and Michael Paliotta. The next day, on 1 July, Anisimov agreed to a five-year, $22.75 million contract extension with Chicago. His existing contract was set to expire after the 2015–16 season. He made his debut with the Blackhawks in the season opening 3–2 loss against the New York Rangers on 7 October. On 9 October, Anisimov scored his first goal as a Blackhawk and the first goal in the first regular season game at Barclays Center against Thomas Greiss of the New York Islanders. The Blackhawks won 3–2 in overtime. He marked a four-point game on 6 February 2016, scoring one goal and assisting on three others by Brent Seabrook, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Patrick Kane in a 5–1 victory over the Dallas Stars. Playing on a line with Kane and Artemi Panarin, he recorded a three-point game on 3 April, scoring one goal and assisting on two others by his linemates in a 6–4 win over the Boston Bruins. In his first year with the Blackhawks, he produced 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 77 games as the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks lost in seven games in the first round of the 2016 playoffs to the St. Louis Blues. After the end of the season, Anisimov underwent wrist surgery.