The New York Rangers are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with two months to go before the NHL trade deadline. While there is time to go, injuries to Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox make their uphill climb even harder. That could mean the Rangers trade Artemi Panarin at the March deadline. These are the three teams that should be calling on Panarin before the deadline.
The Rangers signed Panarin to a seven-year, $81.49 million deal in the 2019 offseason. While he put up incredible individual seasons, including a third-place Hart Trophy finish, they never reached the Stanley Cup Final. Now, they can trade him away and get some top assets to start rebuilding the roster. Plenty of contenders will be calling the Rangers for Panarin, who may be the best player on the market.
The Rangers should be shopping Panarin, and these teams are the ones who should be calling.
The Panthers never stop adding
The Florida Panthers have won two consecutive Stanley Cups and don't have any plans of stopping soon. They are flirting with the playoff line this year, as Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov have not played a game this year. With Tkachuk returning soon and Barkov potentially returning for the playoffs, they will be a tough out in the playoffs.
When Panarin hit free agency after his run with the Columbus Blue Jackets, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky hit the market as well. The two Russians were both courted by the Panthers, but they only landed the goalie. A Panarin-Bobrovsky reunion in South Florida would put them on a good path for a third championship.
Fitting Panarin in under the new Long-Term Injured Reserve salary cap rules may be tough. But the Rangers can retain half of his salary for an extra draft pick, and a player could be heading to New York in the deal.
The Avalanche look for their second Cup
On Friday, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman was on the FAN Hockey Show talking about the trade deadline. ” 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.
That was a different iteration of the Avalanche back in 2019. They had not won the Stanley Cup yet and had Nathan MacKinnon on the most team-friendly contract in the league. Neither of those things is true anymore, but Colorado is having a historic regular season. They should reward the roster with another big deadline deal, and that could be Panarin.
Last year, the Avalanche traded top forward prospect Calum Ritchie and their 2026 first-round pick to the New York Islanders for Brock Nelson. While that shows they are willing to make this kind of move, they are running out of trade assets. They should be willing to spend the ones they have, though, as they have a great chance to win the second Cup of this era this year.
A Patrick Kane reunion in Detroit for Artemi Panarin
The Red Wings are flying high in the Atlantic Division, as they look to break their nine-year playoff drought. Patrick Kane has been solid for Detroit this year, recently scoring his 500th career goal. When Panarin was a rookie, he struck up a friendship with Kane on the Chicago Blackhawks. Now, they could strike a reunion in the Motor City.
The Red Wings were in on the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes before he landed with the Minnesota Wild. They are getting fantastic seasons out of Alex DeBrincat, Moritz Seider, and Dylan Larkin. With such a long drought, they need to push in their chips at this NHL trade deadline. With Panarin as the biggest fish and his connection with Kane, it is an obvious fit.
The Rangers should be asking for a first-round pick and more from whichever team trades for Panarin. They got a similar package in return for K'Andre Miller from the Carolina Hurricanes last July. Pairing those trade packages with their current farm system would have them back in contention quickly. Igor Shesterkin's prime will not last forever, so trading Panarin now is a must.
