It’s official: the Artemi Panarin trade is done and it beat the roster freeze clock
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
With only hours before the roster freeze ahead of the Olympic break was set to start, the New York Rangers made their move and traded Artemi Panarin.
The New York Rangers have ended the Artemi Panarin saga in the Big Apple on Wednesday as they traded the star veteran winger to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional third-round pick and prospect Liam Greentree.
The news was broken on X by ESPN's Adam Schefter:
Panarin was long speculated to be dealt given his pending free agent status, the fact New York is going through a retool, and that he was not offered a new deal going forward.
That kicked off tons of rumours about where he was headed off too, with several teams in the mix although the price was going to be lucrative.
Panarin also has not agreed to extend with Los Angeles that we know of, and he very well could end up a playoff rental despite wanting a long-term and costly extension.
Rangers get much younger and add intriguing top prospect for Panarin
The conditions attached to the pick are not yet known however it could be dependent on whether or not the Kings make the Stanley Cup Finals or potentially even win the Cup.
Greentree, 20, is a hulking forward standing 6'3, 216 pounds who has fantastic vision and hands for his size, and was the Kings' 26th overall pick in 2024.
In 34 games this season with Windsor he has 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists) and is coming off an incredible 119-point campaign last year with the Spitfires (49 goals, 70 assists).
It's clear that the Rangers wanted to get younger and add a lot more youth to their team and bringing in Greentree is one heck of a start for GM Chris Drury, and he could evolve into a Panarin-esque playmaker in the future.
With the roster freeze in effect as of 3PM, there are no more deals to be done for the next couple of weeks as teams look to rest and recover during the Olympic break.
While this is clearly the first domino to fall when it comes to blockbuster trades, we'll have to wait until the end of the month to see more. Though don't expect the chatter to quiet down during the Olympics either.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Brandon Carlo addressed the trade noise, and he didn’t sugarcoat it
Brandon Carlo addressed the trade noise, and he didn’t sugarcoat it
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 4|876 ANSWERS It’s official: the Artemi Panarin trade is done and it beat the roster freeze clock Do you think the Rangers got enough for Artemi Panarin? | ||
| Yes | 162 | 18.5 % |
| No | 714 | 81.5 % |
| List of polls | ||