The Colorado Avalanche are on pace for a historic season in 2025-26. With a 135-point pace at the halfway point of the season, they should be pushing for the second Stanley Cup of the Nathan MacKinnon era. The NHL trade deadline is two months away, but insider Elliotte Friedman reminds everyone that the Avalanche have shown interest in Artemi Panarin before.
“I was reminded, Colorado took a big run at Artemi Panarin, they made him like a 4x$13m offer when he was last a UFA; I do think there are teams out there who really wanna know what this player's decision is gonna be,” Friedman said on the FAN Hockey Show, per NHL Rumour Report.
The Rangers are tumbling toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference with injuries hampering their team. As they head into a new era, Panarin's historic contract is expiring at the end of this season. They should send him out at the deadline to recoup assets and start the retooling quickly.
The Rangers already did this with K'Andre Miller over the offseason. They sent the defenseman to the Carolina Hurricanes for a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and prospect Scott Morrow. They came into the season hoping to contend while having those future assets in the bank. But that has not happened, so it is time to sell.
The Avalanche do not have a ton of future assets, especially after last year's Brock Nelson trade. Nelson has been a perfect fit, but they are already without their 2026 first-round pick because of it. That makes this trade more difficult, but they still may have the assets to swing the deal. Plus, Panarin has a no-movement clause. If his desire is to win a Stanley Cup, there may be no better team for him to latch onto than the 2026 Avalanche.
