Could the Rangers and Hurricanes Pull Off a Blockbuster Artemi Panarin Trade?

New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is in the final year of a seven-year contract, and his Manhattan fate is very much up in the air.

The two sides appear to have a baseline interest in continuing the relationship, but agreeing on the specifics of a financially consequential deal cannot be taken for granted. For now, both the Rangers and Panarin seem to be in a wait-and-see mode.

At some point, decisions will have to be made. It would be imprudent for the Rangers to continue past the trade deadline without a contract in place. If Panarin hits the trade block, he'll likely be the top player on the board.

On Tuesday, Bleacher Report insider Frank Seravalli speculated the Carolina Hurricanes as an intuitive landing spot for Panarin.

How would Panarin fit in Carolina? What pieces would intrigue the Rangers in a potential return? And are the Rangers better off signing or moving the Russian superstar? Let's dive in.

Rangers: Sign or Trade Panarin

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The greater difficulty the Rangers face in deciding what to do with Panarin is that it's not exactly clear in which direction this team should steer.

Even if the Blueshirts continue to respond to new Head Coach Mike Sullivan's structural changes, the best-case scenario for this season seems to be a point total in the low 90s and an underdog first-round playoff matchup as a wild card.

That might satisfy young, playoff-hungry teams like Buffalo or Detroit. For a Rangers team that is almost exclusively led by veterans, that's no-man's land. More pertinently, that would hardly justify keeping Panarin past the deadline and losing him for nothing in July.

It also begs the question of how invested the Rangers, a middling team, should be in Panarin, who will turn 34 next season. This is a team already committed to several aging players whose long-term contracts will not age well, including Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and Vincent Trocheck.

Yet this is already a team devoid of true offensive talent. It's no shock that a team deploying Taylor Raddysh and Connor Sheary in the top-six at times this season is second-to-last in the NHL by goals-per-game. It would get categorically worse without Panarin, who tallied 120 points just two seasons ago.

Maybe the answer, then, is to blow it up. But how? Again, you have a number of aging players whose contracts are tough to move, even before considering trade protections; most prominently, Miller, who was just named captain a few months ago. Adam Fox (27) and Igor Shesterkin (29) are in their primes. Even if the Rangers decide to waste their primes — a catastrophic outcome in itself — that duo alone will ensure the Rangers are not bad enough to truly rebuild.

There are no simple answers for how the Rangers should proceed here. Every outcome is laden with traps.

That one tool at GM Chris Drury's disposal is time. The Rangers have four months and 50 games between now and the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline. Based on the performance and how contract negotiations evolve in that timespan, perhaps the right path will become illuminated.

Panarin Fit In Carolina

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There are a few factors that complicate the vision for Panarin as a Carolina Hurricane.

The Hurricanes, as an organizational philosophy, prefer to go after players with term. They hit the eject button on Mikko Rantanen very quickly last season once they realized he would not re-sign in Carolina. Would Panarin, who has a full no-movement clause, even waive to join the Canes, let alone forego free agency to re-sign in Carolina?

Even if so, he's probably not what the Hurricanes envision as their perfect trade target. As strong as this team is from top to bottom, the Achilles heel is second-line center. Logan Stankovan is adequate in the interim, but in head coach Rod Brind'amour's ideal world, he has a true top-six center to complement Sebastian Aho at his disposal.

Artemi Panarin can play either wing but is definitely not suited as a pivot.

The reality for the Hurricanes is that there may not be a perfect player available, and beggars cannot be choosers. Arguably the most structured team in hockey, the Hurricanes have perennially been one offensive difference-maker short in the Eastern Conference Final. Even at 33 years old, Panarin creates individual magic with the puck with regularity.

It's quite possible that, as March approaches, Panarin is far and away the top offensive talent available. If the Hurricanes have to "settle" for a 90-point winger, they'll still like their postseason odds.

Potential Trade Pieces

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Proposed Trade: Artemi Panarin to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2026 first-round pick, Simon Forsmark, and Kurban Limatov.

What would a trade that sends Artemi Panarin to the Carolina Hurricanes look like?

That's hard to ballpark. How strong is mutual interest in a long-term extension? Are the Hurricanes acquiring him with a contract in place, with a willingness to engage in talks but without any promise of commitment, or as a pure rental?

Panarin has a no-move clause. How big is his list of acceptable destinations? Last deadline, Brad Marchand singled out the Florida Panthers as his destination, severely hampering the Bruins' trade leverage. Are the Hurricanes bidding against eight other teams, or against themselves?

What direction are the Rangers heading, and are they willing to set up a potential marriage between Panarin and a division rival for the next few seasons?

We're forced to generalize at the moment. Acknowledging margin for error in both directions, the typical return in these circumstances is usually a first-round pick and one or two young players/prospects. For precedent, consider Claude Giroux's trade to Florida in 2022, Taylor Hall's move to Arizona in 2019, and Jarome Iginla's switch to Pittsburgh in 2013.

Top prospects are rarely included in these types of deals, so while the Rangers would probably love to acquire high-upside prospects like Bradly Nadeau or Felix Unger-Sorum, the Hurricanes likely would prefer to pull from their impressive prospect depth instead.

One name that sticks out? Simon Forsmark. The 22-year-old defenseman has been a productive two-way defenseman in the Swedish Elite League. The 6'2, 201-pound lefty is balanced on his skates and has improved his skating since his draft year. The way he defends with his feet and body falls in line with what the Rangers seek from their defensive depth. I've heard mixed reviews about how the Hurricanes view him internally, so that he may be one the team is willing to part with.

Sticking with the defense trend, Kurban Limatov is the type of long, toolsy defenseman the Rangers seem to like. The Russian is 6'3", skates well, and plays the aggressive pinching style that the Rangers' tactics demand from their defensemen. The 2025 third-round pick has the upside the Rangers want, but the uncertainty is that Carolina is willing to concede for an elite winger like Panarin.

In truth, the Hurricanes have so many qualifying prospects that projecting a trade is fool's work. But I feel like this conception passes the smell test based on value and the Rangers' philosophies.