Career
Anisimov has previously played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, the former of which originally selected him in the second round, 54th overall, at the 2006 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Anisimov is a product of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey school. He made his semi-professional debut for the organization"s junior farm club, Lokomotiv-2, during the 2004-2005 season before joining the senior team in the 2005-2006 season.
At the end of the campaign, Anisimov was drafted in the second round, 54th overall, in the 2006 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.
On 2 August 2007, Anisimov signed his first contract with the Rangers, later joining the team"s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, for the 2008-2009 season. On 23 January 2009, Anisimov was selected to participate in the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic in Worcester, Massachusetts, representing the PlanetUSA team
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 National Hockey League debut on 3 February against the Atlanta Thrashers at Madison Square Garden.
Anisimov scored his first career National Hockey League goal on 11 October 2009, during the 2009-2010 season against goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Anaheim Ducks in a 3–0 Rangers victory.
On 8 July 2011, Anisimov, a restricted free agent, re-signed with the Rangers on a two-year, $3.75 million contract. Just one season into his contract, however, Anisimov, along with Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon and a first-round draft pick in 2013 (19th overall, used to select Kerby Rychel), were traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Rick Nash, Steven Delisle and a 2013 conditional third-round pick. On 26 June 2013, Anisimov signed a three-year contract extension with the Blue Jackets at an annual average value of $3.28 million.
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 2015-2016 season.
