6 Offseason Trade Landing Spots for Artemi Panarin amid NHL Rumors

The New York Rangers are in a fascinating position this offseason. They're starting over with a new head coach in Mike Sullivan, and they've got a couple of notable restricted free agents in K'Andre Miller and Will Cuylle.

Never mind that defensemen Urho Vaakanainen and Zac Jones are also RFAs. They also have star forward Artemi Panarin headed into the final year of his contract and his $11.6-plus million cap hit doesn't seem quite so monstrous anymore.

The Rangers already have more than $87 million committed to the books for next season and the $95.5 million salary cap suddenly doesn't seem like such a big raise in that context.

The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta tossed out the idea the Rangers might try to move Panarin this summer to free up money to re-sign their other players and tweak the lineup otherwise.

Considering Panarin was accused of sexual assault by a Rangers employee (the complaint was settled after he paid her a financial settlement in August 2024), maybe a change of scenery is for the best.

If the Rangers decide to move Panarin, what would the best locations be for the NHL's fifth-leading scorer since 2015-2016? While we're aware the 33-year-old has a full no-move clause and can pick anywhere he wants to go, let's consider destinations that make sense.

Anaheim Ducks

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The main reason we're throwing the Anaheim Ducks' name into the discussion for Panarin is they were the NHL's third-lowest-scoring team this season. Their 217 goals scored were only more than the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks, and that's not the company a team that had designs on the playoffs needed to keep.

Panarin had 37 goals and 52 assists this season for 89 points over 80 games played. The Ducks' leading goal scorer was Mason McTavish (22) and Troy Terry had the most points (55). If the Ducks are going to take a step next season and return to the playoffs, they absolutely need more goals and Panarin would provide an instant upgrade there, particularly in a contract year.

There's also the part where the Ducks hired Panarin's first NHL head coach, Joel Quenneville, to take over behind the bench and that kind of connection is really hard to ignore. Anaheim has plenty of young players or less-expensive productive veterans to make a deal happen so... why not, right?

Chicago Blackhawks

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Panarin's NHL career started in Chicago with the Blackhawks, and while that happened toward the end of their dynastic run, wouldn't it be fun to see him rejoin Chicago as it gears up to try to return with Connor Bedard?

Chicago tried to speed up the process to get back to the playoffs last summer by surrounding Bedard and other young prospects with veteran players and out of all of them, only Ryan Donato seemed to really work out well. He wound up being their only 30-goal scorer while three other Chicago players had 20-or-more. In short, they need offense badly and Panarin would help address that.

Panarin playing wing next to Bedard would be exciting to watch, no doubt, but is it the right kind of move for where Chicago's at right now? Eh... they're still in need of a coach, although it sounds like Jeff Blashill will be hired any day now, and while there is pressure to get back to the playoffs sooner than later, getting Panarin for one season may not be the most helpful to them in the long view.

But we're here for fun, and Bedard and Panarin together would be exactly that so sign us up already.

Detroit Red Wings

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Sometimes desperate teams can make great trade partners, and if ever there was a desperate team in the NHL, it's the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings are nine years removed from their last playoff appearance and after getting so close in the wild card race the past two years and fans running out of patience with GM Steve Yzerman, making a splash to add Panarin would help check a lot of boxes for Detroit.

The Wings need more goal scoring like mad and Panarin has been nothing but an elite offensive weapon since he entered the NHL in 2015-2016. Wings fans are more than familiar with him after seeing him with Chicago, Columbus and the Rangers and, if we're being real here, if the Wings fall short of the postseason again next year, not only could Panarin walk but there might be a lot of folks in the Detroit front office who will be gone as well.

Would the trade be a big risk? Sure! Are the Red Wings, most namely Yzerman, in position to remain patient in the face of everything else going on in the Atlantic Division? Not exactly!

Minnesota Wild

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The teams that should be hot in pursuit of Panarin should be those that struggled for offense, and the Minnesota Wild were definitely one of them.

The Wild scored 225 goals this season and a lot of that shortened production was thanks to Kirill Kaprizov missing time with injury. There were also all of the other players who missed time with injury who helped make that happen. The Wild's 225 goals scored placed them 25th in the league, the fewest number of goals among playoff teams.

Adding Panarin and his 37 goals and 89 points would ideally provide the Wild a huge lift and they've got just the right way to help make a trade happen by dangling young center Marco Rossi who's reportedly someone that could be moved this summer by Minnesota.

We're not necessarily saying this would be a one-for-one trade, but a young scoring center with a ton of upside for a veteran with a proven background sure helps put the pieces together for a deal to be made. Getting Panarin teamed up with Kaprizov would help them get a lot more serious about competing with Winnipeg, Dallas and Colorado in the Central Division, too.

Vancouver Canucks

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We're more than aware that the situation with the Vancouver Canucks is seemingly perpetually weird. But heading into next season, they're likely losing Brock Boeser and Pius Suter to free agency, and hoping Quinn Hughes comes back healthy and Elias Pettersson returns to the form we're more familiar with as an elite scorer.

Panarin could help. Obviously, the Rangers and Canucks are familiar with each other after the J.T. Miller trade which means both teams have a good idea what the other would want from each other in these kinds of situations. Panarin's offense would provide a huge lift to the Canucks and give them and new head coach Adam Foote the best opportunity to start fresh with a fighting chance.

This isn't to say the Canucks were bad last year, they were injury and drama-addled and yet were still very close to netting a wild-card spot. But they really need more offense to keep up with Vegas, Edmonton and Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.

Seattle Kraken

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Part of us wants the Seattle Kraken to keep playing things cool and figure out what they need to do to grow a sustainable perennial playoff entrant the way expansion teams used to do. Then there's the part of us that writes this column and says: "Nah, what's the fun in that? Go get Panarin!"

After all, the Kraken's biggest needs are on defense, in goal to help Joey Daccord, and better overall depth. But what if we ignored all of that and made a reckless trade to add Panarin for one season to play alongside Matty Beniers and Jared McCann while Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour blaze a trail to the offensive zone from the blue line? That sounds way more fun and exciting, doesn't it?

The Kraken's approach to offense is by having everyone chip in and that's nice and all, but it helps to have a star player to run out there to be the nuclear option every shift. Panarin would certainly be that in Seattle and given how nice it is there to play and how great the fan base has been, it'd be an easy way to start a conversation about an extension, no?