The New York Rangers have traded forward Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 3rd round pick, and prospect Liam Greentree. New York will retain 50% of Panarin’s salary for the remainder of the season.
The conditions on the third-round pick are tied to Los Angeles’ potential playoff success. If the Kings win a playoff round this year, the pick will become a second-round selection. If Los Angeles wins two playoff rounds this season, the Rangers also receive a 2028 fourth-round pick.
According to reports, the Kings have already begun negotiations with Panarin’s camp on an extension. While it has yet to be confirmed officially, sources indicate that the sides are putting the final touches on a 2 year extension with an AAV of $11M per year.
Currently in the final season of a 7 year contract which carried an average annual value of $11.6M per season, should Panarin not ink a new deal, he will become a free agent this summer.
Across 52 games with New York this season, the 34 year old has notched 19G and 38A for 57 points and a -16 rating. In 5 of the last 6 years, Panarin has been the team’s leading scorer, and has been better than a point per game in terms of offensive production since joining the team in 2019.
With the Rangers at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division at 22-28-6, the Rangers front office had been shopping Panarin for the last few weeks.
With the NHL set to impose their Olympic roster freeze, which would prevent teams from trading any players until at least February 22nd, New York was motivated to get a deal done before athletes headed to Italy for the Winter Games.
The deal comes on the heels of Rangers GM Chris Drury penning a open letter to fans that the club would be entering a “retool” period, and that they were fully aware that the club wasn’t performing up to expectations. Drury met with Panarin’s camp to inform them that the club would not be looking to extend the forward this offseason, and that he would likely be moved ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline.
Several teams around the league had expressed interest in acquiring the native of Korkino, Russia, including Carolina, Washington, and Tampa Bay. However, according to reports, Panarin informed the Rangers he preferred to be moved to either LA or Florida, a power he could exert via his full no movement clause.
Coming back the other way is 6’3″ forward Liam Greentree, a former first round pick by LA (26th overall) in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. A native of Oshawa, ON, Greentree has spent the last 4 seasons with the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL.
Across 34 games this season, he’s notched 23G and 22A to go along with 46 PIMs. The 20 year old projects as a middle six forward with offensive upside for New York.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.