The spotlight will be squarely put on the New York Rangers over the next two days as they have the top asset available on the trade market: Artemi Panarin. The Rangers appear hopeful to move the star winger before the league’s Olympic roster freeze at 3 pm Wednesday.
Among several other reportedly interested teams since Panarin’s availability was revealed have been the Washington Capitals. Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman’s most recent report on the Capitals was that some NHL teams believe the Caps are “aggressively pursuing” Panarin, and he seems to have gotten confirmation on that, given what he said on Monday’s episode of CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali show.
“I think he’s deciding where he wants to go and who’s willing to do the extension,” Friedman said. “At different times, I’ve heard different things. I’ve heard if Florida can get it done, that’s his first choice. I think Washington has made a really serious run at him. And I do think on some level, LA appeals to him. It seems as with every passing hour, I kind of get a different team. I think we’re just going to see – does he make a decision over the next day or so? Most people seem to think that nobody wants this going past the Olympic freeze.”
The major obstacles to completing a deal appear to be Panarin’s preference for a landing spot and his and his agent’s contract-extension demands. With a full no-movement clause in his contract, the 34-year-old winger controls his destiny and can basically hand-pick a list of suitors.
Over the past few days, the cash-strapped Florida Panthers have become more widely talked about, as it’s known that they would be Panarin’s first choice, and agent Paul Theofanous has both Panarin and fellow summer 2026 unrestricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky as clients. But, if Florida is unable to find a creative solution to make things work, the Capitals seem to be the next most serious contender to acquire Panarin.
Panarin and Theofanous have made it clear that they prefer to have a contract extension in place as part of any trade, and that the magic number for that contract is $50 million. However, Panarin is not expected to have a strong preference term-wise, so teams could spread that $50 million over three to six seasons to better suit their salary cap situations.
The Capitals are one of the few playoff contenders that could easily make an extension like that work, with a projected $34.83 million in cap space next summer, per PuckPedia. With recent wins over the Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Islanders, the Capitals have moved right back into the Eastern Conference playoff mix. They could seek to bring Panarin in for the final push after the Olympics conclude.
Given current injury issues, the Capitals may need to move some salary around to fit Panarin’s current $11.6 million cap hit, as they have just $5.78 million in space available. The Rangers could be asked to retain money on the final year of Panarin’s contract to make that easier, but that could further inflate what they ask for in return.
After the roster freeze begins on Wednesday, teams will not be permitted to make any moves through 11:59 pm on February 22.
