New York Rangers Trade Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Emily Kaplan report the New York Rangers have traded winger Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 2026 third-round draft pick and prospect forward Liam Greentree.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s not much of a return for a player of Panarin’s caliber, but the Rangers didn’t have much choice. The 34-year-old winger has a full no-movement clause, and Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports the Kings were the only team he wanted to go to and the only club the Rangers had to work with.
New York Rangers trade winger Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings (NHL Images).
Walker reports that the conditional third-round draft pick can become a second-round pick if the Kings win a playoff round and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2028 if they win two playoff rounds.
Panarin was reportedly seeking a contract extension before waiving his no-movement clause. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported there’s no extension yet, but the two sides are working on it.
Recent reports claimed Panarin was seeking a $40 million or a $50 million extension. Either one guarantees he would get at least $10 million annually. That’s a bit of a pay cut from his current $11.642 million annual average value, but still a hefty price to pay for a playmaking winger who turns 35 in October.
(UPDATE: ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports sources claim the Kings and Panarin have agreed to a two-year extension worth an AAV of $11 million.)
The Kings are among the lowest-scoring teams in the league, which is hampering their efforts to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Panarin should provide a welcome boost to their offense in the short term, especially with team captain Anze Kopitar recently returning from injury.
Over the long term, however, Panarin won’t be able to fill Kopitar’s skates as a center, and locking him up to an expensive, lengthy deal will take a big chunk out of their projected $26 million in cap space for 2026-27. That could complicate efforts to land a potential replacement for Kopitar.
I thought he’d bring a greater return than that.
Goes to show … we all tend to over-value and are shocked when reality hits home.
Of course, the caveat in his case was, there were only a couple of places he’d waive to go to, so the Rangers were caught between a rock and a hard place. A take it or leave it situation in its classic form.
George….I thought he would waive for the Capitals? I believe the Capitals were willing to offer him an extension too????
wow if this deal is true does seem slightly underwhelming..mmhhh
Hummm
You nailed it! (as far as a 3rd) Greentree is a very nice add!
The 3rd becomes a 2nd of La wins a round.
Rangers also are retaining 50 percent of Panarin cap hit/salary in the trade with LA Kings. Not a great return, but not horrible either.
I have to wonder if they had waited until the trade deadline if they would have gotten more – although it was also reported that he would only accept a trade to Kings.
I predicted an underwhelming return if he chose only 1 destination, but I thought he would at least garner a 1st and a very good prospect. WOW!
I gotta give credit to Kenny! This is better than a Legwand, or Cole or Kyle Quincy TDL trades! BTW, the 1st for Quincy got Tampa Vassy!!!
Have to hope Kings get past 1st round and pick becomes a 2nd. Looking at Greentree, seems like a good pickup. Already has NHL size and has been working hard since draft on improving skating and strength. Big numbers in OHL, maybe we see him next training camp.
That will at least give the Kings more scoring punch. As of today, they are tied with St. Louis for the 2cond-least goals scored so far this season (143), just 5 more than the lowest, Calgary (138).
Oddly, if memory serves me correctly, LA was the lowest scoring team when they won the cup in 2014. Against none other than…..
Apparently, the best piece for the “retool” out of this deal now plays in LA?
These Kings are nothing like the club they were in 2014.
Agreed, they’re not beating Colorado , Dallas or Minnesota imho.
This Panarin move will attract a couple more good players to LA. It may happen before the TDL, but certainly by the good ole summertime!
George….I thought he would waive for the Capitals? I believe the Capitals were willing to offer him an extension too????
wow if this deal is true does seem slightly underwhelming..mmhhh
Realistically, this wasn’t a Tavares, Marner or Stamkos thing. Ny got back something for a guy they picked up as a FA and played out for 6 1/2 years.
The return isn’t bad, the return is just confusing. They completely botched the rebuild by signing Panarin and Trouba.
This is not a good start to a “retool”. Ny was not going to win this trade regardless. They were trading the best player involved today. But I don’t see a 2nd / 3rd round pick. A 4th or greentree helping this team any time soon.
Leave Trocheck, Schneider be! Certainly don’t trade them for futures.
Ya Captain, once they determined they wouldn’t offer him a new contract, and Panarin wanted an extension before agreeing to a trade, you knew the return would be way less. Why would a guy like Holland agree to pay more and bid against himself once he was comfortable Panarin would agree to the contract? He knew he had him. Plus how many teams were really serious about signing a 35 yr old player to a $50M contract? I would suggest zero.
Greentree looks like a guy who can contribute some scoring and some jam in the NHL, better than the option of Panarin walking for nothing in the spring.
So who’s the next biggest name out there?
Great job by Holland.
LA gives up a kid in the minors, a 3rd, a 4th (mystery meat), for a proven point a game player, to a team that can use some scoring.
Contract only 2.5 years… which was well below his advertised demand.
Look forward to reading the NY Post to see the NYers lose their minds.
Go Kings!!!
Woof. I thought a bigger return even with the restrictions. As a fan of a competing metro team… cool. But dang that sucks for rags fans.
As a long time Kings fan, I wasn’t thrilled when I saw the Panarin trade headline. However, Greentree is still just a prospect and Panarin is an offensive improvement in every way with no active roster player sacrificed. Maybe gets us into the playoffs but I doubt any advancing beyond the first round.