Things are going very poorly for the New York Rangers right now. At the time of this writing, they have a 20-21-6 record and are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. They have also lost eight out of their last 10 games, which included a nightmare 10-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 10.
If the Rangers do not turn things around quickly, there is a real chance that they will be sellers at the 2026 NHL trade deadline. A few of their players have already come up in the rumor because of this, but none bigger than star winger Artemi Panarin.
Due to this, during the recent episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman named the Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, and Colorado Avalanche as potential suitors for Panarin if the Rangers officially shop him.
Rangers’ Panarin Would Be A Big-Time Addition For Any Of These 4 Teams
The Panthers and Panarin could be an excellent match if they could find a way to make it work financially. If the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champs acquired him, he would give their top-six another big-time star to work with as they look to three-peat.
Panarin to the Capitals would undoubtedly be fascinating to see. He could make some real magic playing with fellow Russian star forward Alex Ovechkin and would certainly be a welcome addition to a Washington club looking to go on a long playoff run this spring.
It would not be too surprising if the Wild ended up making a push for Panarin this season. Wild general manager Bill Guerin made it clear that the team is in win-now mode when they acquired superstar blueliner Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild acquiring Panarin would give them another impactful top-six winger, which is a real need for them. It would also be awesome to see Panarin team up with Kirill Kaprizov.
With the Avalanche, Friedman mentioned that the Central Division club had interest in Panarin back when he was a free agent. The Avalanche are in the middle of a fantastic season, as evidenced by their 33-4-8 record. If they brought in another superstar like Panarin to their top six, that would only make them an even better team.
