Just before the 3 p.m. roster freeze deadline, the New York Rangers dealt Artemi Panarin to the LA Kings. Throughout the day, as many of us refreshed Twitter waiting for news, several teams were rumored to be in the mix. Panarin and his agent told GM Chris Drury late in the morning that the only place he would waive his NMC/NTC to go would be Los Angeles.
The trade was broken by Adam Schefter, largely because he shares the same agency group as Panarin and Emily Kaplan. As the details of the return filtered out, the annoyance level of the fanbase either grew or dissipated, depending on your view. Panarin, who signed a two-year, $22 million extension, more on that later, to LA for Liam Greentree, a conditional third rounder (better of LA’s two picks) this year that becomes a second if the Kings win a playoff round and a conditional 2028 fourth rounder if the Kings win two playoff rounds.
Panarin held all the cards thanks to the NMC and NTC he was given by then GM Jeff Gorton when he was initially signed to the seven-year contract. He had been a healthy scratch for the past week for roster management purposes to avoid injury, enabling a trade. Drury somewhat painted himself into a corner, first with the letter, then with the announcement that New York would not re-sign Panarin to an extension.
If you want a good look at the possible timeline of events, see the tweet below. Panarin was rumored to have wanted a long-term deal, at least five years, which Drury was not offering. Instead, he wanted Panarin to take a team-friendly deal, a la Anze Kopitar, who inked a two-year, $14 million contract. The difference is Kopitar was a career King and their captain while Panarin was a hired gun, who reportedly did take less to sign with the Rangers but wasn’t going to take below-market value. Once the Letter was issued and extension declined, no path to a deal existed. This is the case even though the extension Panarin signed was a far cry from where he thought his market would be.
Analysis:
As you have likely already seen and will see below, the grades and analysis for the Rangers and Drury were not kind. Drury was painted in a corner, partly by his own doing via how the overall situation was handled and partly by Panaron holding all the cards. While that may be true, deals like Philly made with Claude Giroux and Tampa/Steve Yzerman made with Martin St. Louis show that even when painted in a corner, some flexibility exists. Drury wanted to get this situation out of the way so the focus could shift to players like Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider before the March 6 trade deadline. In addition, he would not have to spend the Olympics break with the Panaron situation unresolved.
Even though that may be the case, that doesn’t mean you make a bad deal. The prevailing view is that the return Drury received today was not going to differ wildly from what might have been the return down the road. LA had the upper hand to an extent because that’s where Panarin decided he wanted to go, though many other teams had been in the mix. The offer of the extension, even though just two years, helped seal the deal.
What frustrates Rangers’ fans is the retention of salary, especially at 50%, normally automatically results in an upgrade in pick. If the deal had been a conditional second that went to a first with a round win, criticism of the deal would have been muted somewhat. Couple this with the poor drafting, subpar player development and collapse the past two years and the faith in Drury is at an all-time low. Jonny Lazarus nicely summed it how many feel about the deal, Drury, the loss of Panarin, etc.
Trade Grades
Audio and Video Analysis:
What the Ranger get in Greentree
In Greentree, the Rangers are getting a former first-round pick, taken with the 26th pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The forward has 23 goals and 45 points over 34 games for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL Greentree dominated last year, aided by skating with Ilya Protas, but has seen his numbers decline this season.
Greentree, the Kings’ top non-goalie prospect, was the target for weeks if a deal was made with LA. I would have liked one of the goalie prospects as well to improve the deal, as that is the Kings’ strength. Obtaining Greentree is fine, though projections are that he may be a middle-six forward. What is viewed as underwhelming, as noted above, is the pick that also came back. Greentree has an excellent shot, which is his calling card, but his skating is still an issue, even though that has somewhat improved.
He should play for Hartford of the AHL next season, where he is best served to remain all season. Greentree, 20 years old, may be the Rangers’ #1 prospect, albeit in a weak system. Greentree hopefully develops; this is another area of weakness for New York, into a power-forward, using his strength, shot and leadership to become a top-six winger.
Panarin: What the Rangers Lose
Panarin always answered the bell. He will go down as one of the team’s best free agent signings along with Adam Graves. Panarin played 482 career games with the Rangers and had 607 career points, which ranks ninth in team history. He’s the franchise leader in points per game (1.26) and twice finished in the top five of Hart Trophy voting.
If there is a criticism of Panarin, it’s been his playoff performances. Panarin has the Game 7 OT series winner against Pittsburgh and a OT winner versus Carolina. Beyond those moments, Panarin has struggled in the postseason. Despite those “issues,” he has 35 points in 46 playoff games with New York.
Panarin is still a play driver who can slow the game down and create time and space. His style of play should enable him to not decline substantially as he ages, as it’s not built on speed or strength. But don’t discount his lower body strength, as that allows him to also create space.
Los Angeles is 28th in 5×5 and overall scoring, which is where Panarin should assist. In addition, Panarin will aid the Kings’ power play as the team aims to make the playoffs in Kopitar’s final season. His extension is more than reasonable, as noted above.
Drury under fire: Panarin handling didn’t help
His Q rating with the fanbase is about as low as possible. How he handles the remainder of the trade deadline will go a long way to determining if that can be remedied. If you want to argue that the Panarin situation limited the return, that will not be the case with Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider.
Trocheck and Schneider, especially Trocheck, should gather a ton of interest in the marketplace, netting a big return. If Drury fails to maximize the value of either or both, then Drury should summarily be taken to task. He seemed to recognize in his comments last night his issues to date; now he has to fix them.
Drury, at least, has learned from his prior interpersonal mistakes. He may have gone too far the other way in this situation, giving Panarin and his agent too much leash, overcorrecting after what happened with Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider, etc. A balance is needed in the future.
Now what?
If we thought the Rangers offense had issues earlier in the season, we got a good look at how bad it will be while Panarin was scratched. More pressure is on Miller and Mika Zibanejad to help carry the scoring. Will Cuylle will need to raise his game, as he has struggled this season.
The future is the key now. Playing the kids in prime situations should be the sole goal. Allowing them the opportunity to either flourish or fail is all that should matter down the stretch. Gabe Perreault needs to be in the first power-play unit as the team sees what his upside is. Brennan Othmann has yet to show why he was a first-round pick, but he, too, should get all the chances he needs to do so down the stretch.
It has been ugly this season, especially at MSG. Get ready for more of the same and likely even worse. The good news is that the Olympics will be a nice diversion, and then the stretch run to the trade deadline will keep us engaged. After March 6, the entire focus will be on development, the kids, and the draft.
Drury has his work cut out for him.
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